Sokka. was. furious.
Of all the idiotic, scatterbrained and downright dangerous ideas Aang had came up with, attacking a Fire Nation general had to be the worst. Just what did he expect to achieve? To bring the war down upon this settlement of refugees and children?
"But he was threatening-" Aang tried to explain, but Sokka wouldn't let the boy get a word in.
"Then you should have let him make his threats!" Sokka hissed. He pointed down at the base of the mountain. "What do you think he's going to do?! I bet they're gathering forces to attack the Northern Air Temple as we speak! For a pacifist, you sure know how to start a fight!"
Deep down, Sokka knew he wasn't being fair to Aang. This was his people's home, it must have hurt to see the Fire Nation threaten it. Aang was only sixteen and still dealing with the pain of having lost his entire race. Sokka doubted he could keep a level head if he was in Aang's position.
But right now he couldn't bring himself to care.
"Then we can fight-"
"With what?" Sokka gestured to the gathering crowd. "Look around Aang, these aren't warriors. These are children and refugees. They can't stand against a trained army! Even if we win, the Fire Nation will just come back and with greater numbers."
Aang stepped back defensively, not meeting Sokka's eyes. "But they were making the Mechanist build weapons…"
"And what of it? When… if we lose, the Fire Nation will have the Mechanist in chains and sent to the Home Islands to work for them. You think he'll have any more of a choice then?"
Sokka stepped towards Aang, glaring daggers at the shorter boy. He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths and unclenched his fist. It wouldn't do him any good to lash out and say something he'd regret.
"If you had waited… maybe we could've worked something out. We had time to plan and prepare. We could've taken the Fire Nation by surprise," Sokka said through clenched teeth. He opened his eyes and saw the young monk staring down at his feet in shame. "You've given us days to prepare. Days! And that's an optimistic estimate. I can't turn a tiny settlement of civilians into a fighting force in that amount of time. Nobody can. People are going to die, Aang!"
And it's all your fault. The unsaid words hung thick in the air.
With a long exhale, Sokka stepped back from the quivering Air Nomad. Katara pushed through the crowd and gave Sokka a viscous glare before turning to console Aang.
"It's okay. Sokka's just frustrated. He'll cool down in a bit," Katara patted Aang lightly on the back and turned to Sokka. "We've been through worse odds before. It seemed hopeless when we were trapped in that Earthbender prison or had to face down a volcano. I'm sure between the three of us, we can come up with something. Right Sokka?"
Sokka sighed and looked away. "You're right Katara. Ask around for anybody with combat experience. I'll see if I can't dig us out of this hole."
He turned and walked back to the temple. The gawking crowd hastily backed away before him. Just as he pushed open the heavy wooden doors, Sokka turned to give Aang one final piercing look.
"You will never be able to save the world if you don't think things through before acting. Whatever happens over the next few days, I hope it teaches you to be more responsible."
The doors slammed shut behind him.
It didn't take long for guilt to set in. He'd been too hard on Aang. Sokka wasn't normally like this, but by the spirits it seemed like Aang had done everything in his power to piss him off this past week. The spy in the North Pole had added a whole new risk to their mission. This kind of threat was something Sokka had no idea how to face. Fighting a battle was straightforward; you knew who the enemy was. But a spy? Sokka might not know they were in danger until it was too late. All it would take is a dash of poison or a knife in the back and the world's last hope for peace would be snuffed out. He was powerless against a threat he couldn't see.
And with all these thoughts racing through his head, causing him no small amount of stress and anguish, Aang just had to steal the map to their father. He'd lied and stole something that meant so much to them. And for what? Because Aang thought he and Katara would give up on the world for a family reunion? Like they'd ever do that! Sokka thought Aang of all people would know what it was like to lose family, but apparently that wouldn't stop him from stealing the one link they had to their father. What would have happened if Aang hadn't come clean? Would Bato have remained in that sanctum waiting for a letter that would never come until the Fire Nation found him?
Of course the Water Tribe siblings forgave Aang. They had to, he was the only way to restore balance. But Sokka lost a lot of respect for the young Avatar that day.
And stealing the letter to their father didn't even come close to what Aang did next.
Sokka sat at the small table he'd set up by the river and read Cetaka's textbook carefully. He'd been reading through it every spare moment he had. Katara had joked about being surprised her brother was reading anything, but soon found herself looking over Sokka's shoulder and later asking to read through the textbook herself. This power was new to both of the Water Tribe siblings and it didn't take Katara long to become interested in the topic.
During the Fire Festival, Sokka had been lucky enough to purchase materials to finally create something practical with his new knowledge. After a few experiments to hone his skills, Sokka had decided to help the deserters by replenishing their grenade stockpile. His shopping trip had given him the black powder, now all he had to do was prepare a detonator.
"Ok so I add mercury to the acid…" he muttered, hands shaking slightly as he prepared the mixture.
Of course Chey's instructions for making Fire Nation grenades had been vague at best. The Southern Water Tribe had their own version thanks to Sokka's father, but it had been years since Hakoda had taught him the technique so those memories were hazy.
However, between the two designs and Cetaka's textbook, Sokka thought he had a good grasp of the concept. The ceramic balls he'd filled with black powder seemed functional enough. When he'd last played with explosives like this, it had been when he'd tried to open the door in Roku's temple. With a solid container to hold the blast, it should explode with more power than his fake firebending attempt. And for once that was a good thing.
I wonder if I could make a lever arm to throw them further… Sokka pondered absentmindedly. He jotted down the idea in his own notebook for later.
"I want you to stop wasting my time! I already know how to squat and breathe and feel the sun!"
The shout startled Sokka. He bumped the jar of acid, nearly tipping all his hard work onto the grass before he caught it. With a shaky breath, Sokka set the jar back on the small table.
Aang had been… impatient with his new teacher. And it was starting to get on Sokka's nerves. Jeong Jeong had to be the only firebender on the planet who'd be willing to teach the Avatar. And from what Kimi had told him of her own firebending lessons, the old master was doing a pretty good job of it. But Aang had no patience for that.
"Concentrate on the fire. I want you to keep the flame from reaching the edges of the leaf for as long as you can," Jeong Jeong instructed.
Ignore them, he told himself.
With a bit more work, Sokka had distilled his solution down to a fine powder. Carefully, he packed some paper packages and those into a cushioned box. He'd have to make sure the others kept these far away from the grenades. Explosives didn't discriminate between who they hurt and Sokka was determined to not end up with a hand like Cetaka's. Or worse.
A scream broke his concentration. To Sokka's horror, he recognised the sound. He leapt up and sprinted into the forest, his detonators forgotten.
"Katata! I'm so sorry!" A voice cried.
Sokka found his sister was weeping on the riverbank, clutching her hands to her chest. His heart clenched as he saw the angry red marks running up her hands.
"Katara, you're burnt!" Sokka tried to take her arm and submerge it in the river, but she pulled away. Katara ran off into the forest, tears pouring from her eyes.
Sokka turned around to Aang, his eyes burning with barely restrained fury.
"What did you do?!"
"It was an accident! I was, uh…"
But Sokka wasn't listening. He tacked the Air Nomad to the ground, pressing him down into the muddy earth.
"Do you think this is a game?! We found the one firebender on the planet willing to teach you and you disobey him at every turn! Now look what you did! You burned my sister! She's hurt and it's all your fault!"
Looking back, it was fortunate Jeong Jeong had shown up when he did. Sokka's relationship with Aang was strained as it was without Sokka doing something to damage it further in a fit of anger. But he'd be lying if his faith in Aang hadn't been tested the past week. Attacking that general was just more proof Aang needed to learn a whole lot more than just bending.
When Sokka had learnt the Mechanist was making weapons for the Fire Nation, he had tried to keep an open mind, holding his tongue and allowing the Mechanist to explain his situation. Meeting people like Jiro and hearing a collaborator's side of the story had allowed Sokka to at least sympathise with their cause, even if he didn't agree with them. But Aang had leapt right into blaming; first the Mechanist and then the Fire Nation general. He didn't stop to think. He didn't stop to listen. Just like he didn't listen to Jeong Jeong and burnt-
Sokka shook his head. This wasn't the time for fueling his anger. He had to find a way to pull off another miracle and save this village. His heavy footsteps echoed on the ancient cobblestone as Sokka paced down the hallways randomly, deep in thought. The one advantage they had was elevation, but if the Mechanist was designing improvements to the tank design the Fire Nation would likely have some nearby...
A few days might have been too optimistic an estimate. With tanks the Fire Nation could be on them in only a few hours.
And what did they have to fight back? There were enough chemicals to create explosives, but that wouldn't do much against a tank unless Sokka could find a way to deliver them. Gliders could help with scouting and light ordinance dropping, but nothing heavy enough to take out a tank. The pilots all seemed fairly talented, but sending slow-moving canvas gliders against people who could shoot fireballs out of their fists was risky.
No, Sokka needed something different.
It was then Sokka realised that he'd gotten himself lost in an unfamiliar corridor. Light peeking in through the cracks in the wall cast long shadows over the lichens covering the stonework, giving the corridor a weathered look. The air was heavy and ancient. Somehow, Sokka knew he was the first person to breathe this air in a hundred years.
"Sokka!" a familiar voice called out to him. He turned and saw Aang racing down the hallway on an air scooter. Sokka leapt out of the way as Aang zipped past before stopping.
"I've been looking all over for you. I wanted to say I'm sorry for attacking that general. It was hasty and I didn't think it through."
"Alright… and I'm sorry for blowing up at you back there."
"Oh also, I know how we can beat the Fire Nation!"
Sokka glared at Aang. "Why didn't you lead with that?"
"Alright so the Fire Nation has to come from below," Aang explained, ignoring Sokka's jab. "Well, we have control over the skies! We can use the gliders to attack them!"
"I already considered that," Sokka shook his head. "They move too slowly, the Fire Nation would just shoot them out of the sky. They could only carry a few small bombs, not enough to do anything against enemy armour. And they'd have to fly all the way back to the temple after each bombing run."
"I could teach them an Air Nomad diving technique! We stay far away from the target then dive down-" Aang made a whooshing noise and waved his hand around like a mock glider. "-and pull up at the last moment! It's waaayy faster than just flying past them!"
Sokka pondered Aang's idea for a second. This dive bombing technique would make the gliders hard to hit. But it doesn't solve the bomb issue. Though… if they used Appa as a mobile bomb carrier it would cut down the resupply time drastically. The tank problem needed working on, but maybe the Mechanist would have an idea.
"I'll still need to work out a way to counter the tanks, but your idea has merit. See if you can teach this dive bombing to them. And… if you don't mind, can you point me back to the Mechanist?" Sokka blushed slightly. "I wasn't looking where I was going."
Aang paled a bit. "You don't know how to get back too?"
Shit. Sokka thought. Why does the universe hate me? "I thought you knew your way around these temples?"
"I don't know everything! It's a big place and it's been over a hundred years since I was last here!" he replied defensively.
Sokka sighed. "Great. Just great."
He tried to retrace his steps, but no sooner had he turned around did the floor begin to tremble under his weight. It gave way beneath him with a crack, sending Sokka falling into the darkness below. For a brief moment, he felt weightless. But it all came to a sudden stop when he smashed through an ancient wooden table and landed in a heap.
"Ow…" he moaned, getting to his feet and rubbing his sore back. Why did things like this always happen to him?
He looked up at the hole he'd fallen through. It was too high for Sokka to reach. At least not without something to stand on. He turned away and scanned his new surroundings. The hole was the only source of light, but it was enough for Sokka to see the outlines of a room.
Sokka took a long inhale, testing the air. It was dry, still and undeniably ancient with a musty odour that made him want to sneeze. Most of the floorspace was covered by old wooden shelves, each holding dozens of decaying scrolls.
"Wow…" he exhaled. What is this place?
"Are you OK?" Aang shouted from the floor above him.
"I'm fine! You might want to come down here."
Aang leapt into the hole, landing gently on his feet. Sokka gave his back another rub. Lucky airbender…
"I've never seen this place before," Aang eyed the room in wonder.
Sokka picked up the nearest scroll. Much to his annoyance, the paper had degraded past the point where the writing it once contained could be read. A closer glance revealed the same was true for much of the other scrolls.
"We should take a look," Sokka suggested, moving to pick up one of the least rotten scrolls. Who knows, maybe these scrolls revealed the temple came with built in defences? Aang broke out of his reprieve and zipped across the room to carefully examine a few of the scrolls.
"I can't believe this place survived!" he exclaimed. "Air Nomad history!"
"Don't get your hopes up. Most of this stuff has rotted past the point anybody could read it."
They searched the room in silence, Aang's grin fading as the pile of useless scrolls grew higher. But it was back on his face in a flash when he found a legible scroll.
"Hey look, this one has a diagram of that dive bombing maneuver!" Aang shouted.
It did indeed look like how Aang had described it, complete with all the technical details. Interestingly, the dive bomber appeared to be dropping some kind of projectile on a hastily drawn picture of a soldier formation. Who drew this? And why?
Sokka was the next to find a readable scroll. This one was a bending scroll. It depicted two caricatures, one of them dressed in Air Nomad clothing. The Air Nomad demonstrated an intricate move with a staff, shooting a crescent burst of what Sokka could only assume was air.
Which sliced the other person in half.
Sokka blinked to confirm what he was seeing. That was certainly more graphic than what he'd expect to find in an Air Nomad temple. He put the scroll aside and pulled out another one. This was a map, with wavy lines drawn all over it. It took him a while to realise these lines were a diagram of air currents, just like the ones the Southern Water Tribe kept for sailing voyages. Maps, battle doctrine, offensive bending forms… why store these here?
"Aang… I think I know why this place was kept secret."
The Air Nomad peered over a shelf. "Why's that?"
"This is a war room."
There was a moment of silence, each of them letting the words hang in the air.
"Impossible," Aang declared. "Air Nomads were pacifists."
"Well this bending move doesn't look very pacifist," Sokka countered, passing over the bending scroll to Aang. The airbender gave it a brief look before placing it down on the shelf with the other legible scrolls.
"That doesn't prove this is a war room. Maybe this was just a place where they store some of the more dangerous bending techniques?"
"Perhaps," Sokka replied. But he wasn't convinced.
Battle doctrine, offensive bending forms and strategic maps of the world had no reason to be stored together unless you were trying to create a collection of documents pertaining to war. Aang may have been an Air Nomad and the Avatar, but he was still a child. He wouldn't have been privy to the secret meetings of the Air Nomad leaders.
Now that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he could see a door-shaped indent built into the wall next to a worn metallic lever. Some sort of secret passageway, Sokka guessed. Just as he was about to place his hands on the lever, he spotted another scroll sitting alone on a small wooden bench. The scroll was smaller than the others and wrapped in frayed ribbon. The ribbon came apart easily, allowing Sokka to roll out the scroll. Parts of it were rotted or eaten by insects, but he could make out some words.
- pertaining to the proposal
- curtailing the rise of Fire Nation imperialism -
restoring balance in the world. Though I loathe -
against the teachings of Yangchen, we can -
- the Avatar is not ready - action needed -
- broke the Fire Nation once before -
- Darkest Day invasion. Though the eclipse -
- coordinated strike to raze Caldera a -
- just as effective as the Darkest Day
- end the bloodline of the solar warmongers
- new system of governance more receptive to -
- strike from the Western Air Temple-
With - will commence after -
- await your -
Sokka raised an eyebrow. Though half of it was illegible, it seemed to imply the Air Nomads once considered involving themselves in the war, as unbelievable as that was. But he pushed those thoughts aside, focusing on the attack the Air Nomads alluded to. What was this 'Darkest Day'? Sokka considered himself fairly well read in history, but he'd never heard of such an event.
But whatever it was, it sounded like it had given the Fire Nation a bloodied nose. And that made it worth looking into. Sokka quickly jotted down the contents of the scroll before glancing over to his companion.
"Are you done, Aang?"
The monk appeared behind a towering pile of scrolls. "This was all I could find. I think I'm going to give them to the Mechanist. If they're going to live here, then they deserve to know the teachings of the people that used to live here. He can copy them down so the information in these scrolls isn't lost forever."
"That's a good idea. For after the battle. Follow me, I think I know the way out of this room."
"We finally got the war balloon working, thanks to Sokka. This boy's a genius!" the Mechanist announced, Sokka blushing at the praise.
"Thank you. Y-You're a genius!" He managed to stammer out, then facepalmed internally. His voice had to be an octave higher than normal. Way to inspire moral, dumbass.
"Thank you!" The Mechanist replied, ignoring Sokka's blunder.
Despite the awkward start, Sokka cut an imposing figure behind the table. The last few years of puberty had been kind to him, the pathetic state of his voice notwithstanding. If you didn't look too hard you could almost fool yourself into thinking you weren't about to be led into battle by a nineteen year old.
"See, the problem with the old war balloon was you could get it air-borne-," He placed a candle into the model. "but once you did, it just kept going. You could put a hole in the top, but then all the hot air would escape. So the question became: `How do you keep a lid on hot air?'"
Katara rolled her eyes. "Ugh, if only we knew."
"Don't ruin my flow," he pointed at her.
Of course for a full scale design he'd have to use a proper furnace instead of a candle, both to provide the lift and power the propeller. The extra weight would limit their bomb capacity to only three. Ironically, the Fire Nation's own engines and benders would make them the most suited for weaponizing this design.
'You are in the middle of a speech!' he reminded himself harshly. Right. Speech first, full scale design later.
"A lid is actually the answer," Sokka continued. "If you control the hot air, you control the war balloon."
Pulling down on the string, the small lid on the model opened, bringing it back down to the desk.
"Huh, that's actually pretty smart," Katara remarked with exaggerated surprise.
Sokka rolled his eyes and chose to ignore her. "We've put together four types of bombs: conventional, smoke, slime and-"
"Stink! Never underestimate the power of stink!" The Mechanist interrupted.
"But do remember that Fire Nation soldiers are equipped with gas masks so we don't know if the stink bombs will work. Use the slime against the tanks, see if you can't clog up their gears. Aang should have instructed you on the dive bomb maneuver. Smoke bombs should make it harder for the Fire Nation to hit your gliders, but it'll also make it harder for you to hit your targets so use them sparingly."
Sokka certainly wasn't going to make the same mistake that nearly cost him his life at Gaipan.
The Mechanist stepped up. "I need you to all get your gliders and meet on the courtyard, we'll have someone explain the defence procedures then. Sokka and I will prep the war balloon. Now, get to it! We've got a home to save!"
"Sokka, hand me that wrench!" The Mechanist shouted over the distant sounds of battle. Sokka passed him a nearby wrench and together they bolted the lid mechanism down to the gondola.
This wasn't good. The sound of the tanks was getting louder and louder. Sokka watched as a glider careened out of the sky, trailing smoke as it went. In a fit of desperation, the pilot released the burning glider and let gravity take him. Sokka turned away. He didn't want to see a man die again.
He tied down the three slime bombs and shoveled coal into the engine. Finally, it was ready. And not a moment too soon. More gliders were falling out of the sky and Sokka could even see the tanks bearing down on the temple itself. The Mechanist ignited the engine and the balloon began to fill with air. With a long groan, the gondola lifted off the ground.
"There!" Sokka pointed at the small squadron of tanks surrounding Aang. "We need to hit those tanks!"
Cold wind blew through his hair as the balloon steamed towards the battlefield, far too slow for Sokka's liking. Fire shot through the sky around them, striking unlucky gliders out of the sky. It didn't take the Fire Nation long to realise that a glider was a much larger target than the pilot.
"We're over the tanks!" The Mechanist yelled over the wind and sounds of battle.
"Let's hope this works!" Sokka leaned down to cut one of the bombs loose.
It fell away from him, growing smaller as it raced towards a tank squadron. As the bomb landed, it covered the ground in a thick green substance. A horrible tearing sound pierced the air as gears fought against the blockage, but one by one the tanks shuddered to a stop as drive shafts tore and engines blew out. As the tank crews abandoned their vehicles, Sokka let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding.
As he watched them grow smaller on the horizon, Sokka was struck by an odd feeling of sympathy for the Fire Nation soldiers. Were they any different to the ones he had befriended in Gaipan?
"Sokka! What are you doing? We're over another squadron!"
The shout made Sokka flinch and cruse himself for getting distracted again. With a quick flick of his jaw blade, another bomb was released.
"OK, take us over the squadron on the left!" Sokka yelled, spying another enemy formation approaching the courtyard. He sliced the rope holding the last bomb and watched in tense silence as it fell to the earth. Another horrible screeching noise and the final squadron of tanks was silent.
"We did it, Sokka!" The Mechanist whooped as the remaining infantry began to retreat. Sokka grinned, but his smile quickly faded as more grappling hooks shot up from the clouds.
"Damn it, more tanks incoming!" Sokka yelled to his copilot. He steered the balloon away as another grapple shot through the space they'd been moments before.
His eyes darted across the battlefield. They were out of bombs. Everywhere he looked, more gliders were being shot out of the sky by the advancing armour. Sokka needed a new strategy. Could they try a controlled demolition to trigger a landslide? Or… what if he made snowmen and disguised them as people while the rest of them- no, that idea was stupid! Damn it!
Beside him, the Mechanist sniffed the air experimentally. "Wait a second, do you smell that?"
Sokka paused his thinking and took a deep inhale through his nose. Rotten eggs… The explosive gas!
"Down there, that's where the gas is escaping!" He pointed down at a cavernous ravine on the side of the mountain. If he could detonate that gas, it would blow the entire Fire Nation invading force off the mountain!
Acting quickly, Sokka unbolted the engine and hoisted it off the balloon.
"What are you doing, that's our fuel source!"
"It's the only bomb we've got."
The engine teetered over the edge of the gondola and fell down into the ravine, ricocheting off the walls with large clangs. The mountain itself seemed to hold its breath as the engine disappeared from view. Then an eruption of fire and smoke shot out of the ravine with a tremendous boom. Sokka held on for dear life as the war balloon was buffeted by the shockwave.
When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of the invading tanks. He cheered as the rest of the Fire Nation army retreated down the cliff. But his victory was short-lived. Without the engine, the balloon began to rapidly lose altitude.
Just then, a familiar orange glider shot down to intercept the falling balloon. Aang! Sokka tied a piece of rope to his boomerang and tossed it to the airbender then grabbed his copilot.
"Hold on!"
A powerful force yanked them from the balloon, carrying them away from the falling vessel and back up to the temple.
They'd won. Somehow, he had pulled off an impossible feat and scored victory once again. Sokka allowed a smile to appear on his face.
Victory was certainly addictive.
This was it. The final journey. Next time they stopped, it would be behind the walls of the Northern Water Tribe. He'd loaded up everything he could onto Appa, from his experimental grenades to the supplies the Mechanist had generously donated them. Aang and Katara exchanged excited grins, but Sokka could only feel dread. The second they touched down, they would be hunted by an unseen threat. A threat Sokka would have to find, before it could find him.
Teo and his father had come to see them off. As they were leaving, Aang turned to address the duo.
"You know what? I'm really glad you guys all live here now. I realized, it's like the hermit crab," Aang picked up one of the nearby crabs basking in the sun and held it gently in his hands. "Maybe you weren't born here, but you found this empty shell and made it your home. And now you protect each other. Which is why I want you to have this," He handed them the stacks of scrolls they'd found in the archives. "These might be the last Air Nomad scrolls on the planet. I think you should take them. Take care of them, they're part of this place too."
"Thank you Aang," Teo bowed his head respectfully. "This means so much, coming from you. I'll make sure these scrolls are taken care of."
"Aang, you were right about air power. As long as we've got the skies, we'll always have the Fire Nation on the run!" Sokka gave Aang a wide grin, hoping nobody noticed how forced it looked. But Aang just smiled and leapt up onto Appa.
As Aang passed out of hearing range, Sokka's smile faded. He turned and gave the Mechanist an expressionless look.
"You do realise you can't stay here, right?"
The Mechanist nodded sadly. "I know, Sokka."
"What! Why not? Aang said it was OK!" Teo shouted. Sokka gestured for him to lower his voice. There were things Aang and Katara didn't need to know. Things that would only hurt them. Sokka didn't have it in him to poison their victory, but Teo needed to know what his father had already figured out.
"The Fire Nation does not take defeats lightly," Sokka turned away from Teo. He couldn't bear to see his devastated face. "They will return, and in greater numbers. And next time, they'll be prepared. The same trick will not work twice. Not on them."
"We lost a lot of people, my son," the Mechanist added. "And we'll only lose more when the Fire Nation returns. There is no other choice, we must find a new home."
There were tears in Teo's eyes now. He nodded glumly and turned away from them. "I understand. I… I'll go tell the others."
"This was his home," The Mechanist watched sadly as Teo wheeled himself away. "It was the only place he felt free. He couldn't soar like that anywhere else. But what is more important: freedom or safety?"
"I don't know," Sokka admitted. "And I'm sorry you have to leave."
"It's not your fault. But that doesn't mean it hurts any less," the Mechanist breathed deeply from the mountain air, as if to take as much of it with him as possible. "Where would we even go?"
"The safest place for you and Teo would be Ba Sing Se. When you get there, maybe you can help the Earth Kingdom fight back."
"If that's what it takes to make up for what I've done, I'll do it."
Sokka nodded. The two said nothing to each other until Katara came to retrieve him. He left the grieving father alone to say goodbye to their home on the mountain.
AN: Well, this is the last chapter to cover the time between Hero of Gaipan and the North Pole arc. As sad as it is, I don't think the Northern Air Temple settlement could have lasted. The Fire Nation is persistent, they wouldn't let somebody as valuable as the Mechanist (apparently his canon name) slip through their fingers. So they're going to have to relocate to Ba Sing Se. Don't worry, you'll see them again.
Here is also where you start to see some butterflies starting to take effect. With Sokka's delay at Gaipan, he's far more stressed than in canon. This leads to him taking Aang's numerous errors in judgement far worse like stealing the map to Hakoda, burning Katara and bringing war to the Northern Air Temple (something he now considers to be a bad idea, after personally experiencing a horrifying battle). With Kimi's stories, he also blames Aang for burning Katara instead of Jeong Jeong. He sees the control Kimi has over her fire and decides that Aang must be at fault, not firebending itself. This worsens their relationship. His experiences in Gaipan also lead to him replicating the Fire Nation's grenades, the first of many endeavours into the field of explosive warfare.
I've also introduced a bit of Air Nomad lore. It will come in to play later.
Matheus Bezerra de Lima: I'm trying for a weekly update schedule, but I was on holidays for the past few days. And I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. All the characters have been aged up four years, so expect them to be a bit more serious.
Icy Dragon Flame: Cheers. I'll admit, I haven't done political intrigue before. So I'm interested to see how well you guys think I've pulled it off.