A/N: I'm back! And it's time for another exciting chapter of Five Elements. There might be a few improvements to my writing style. Let's just say that a friend gave me some tips on how to improve my chapters and my Beta reader and I used them. I just hope they make my chapters easier to read and help the readers focus on the story rather than the mistakes (assuming there are any he or I missed). Now with these formalities over with, I give you Five Elements!
Disclaimer – I own nothing
Chapter 16 – The Northern Air Temple
It was currently nighttime. A group of people were sitting on benches all around a campfire, listening to a man tell stories about Airbenders. Among this group of people were the four teens that were traveling to the Northern Water Tribe.
"So travelers, the next time you think you hear a strange, large bird talking, take a closer look; it might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man! A member of a secret group of air walkers who laugh at gravity and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!" the man concluded his tale.
Aang and Gohan smiled after hearing the man's story. Katara's face showed enjoyment while her brother just looked bored. The storyteller then got up and went around, holding out his hat for people to place money into."Aren't Airbender stories the best?" Aang asked.
"Was it realistic? Was that how it was back then?" Katara asked the monk.
"I laugh at gravity all the time," Aang replied."Ha-ha! Gravity."
"Those stories sure bring back memories," Gohan said.
The storyteller then came up to Sokka and shook his hat of money. "Jingle jingle," he said expectantly.
Sokka dug into his pockets and pulled out food crumbs and a twitching bug. "Sorry," he apologized.
"Aw, cheapskates!" the man groaned as he turned away. Aang got up and followed the man.
"Hey, thanks for the story!" Aang thanked the storyteller.
"Tell it to the cap, boy," he replied as he shook his hat at the monk. One of his coins fell out of the hat, which Momo picked up and placed back into the hat while Aang tried to find money in his pockets. "Aw, much obliged, little bat thing!" the man said as he petted the Lemur bat.
"It means a lot to hear Airbender stories," Aang said "It must have been a hundred years ago your great grandpa met them."
"What are you prattling about, child? Great grand-pappy saw the air walkers last week!" the storyteller told Aang as he pointed at his great grandfather, who waved at the monk. Aang's eyes grew wide from this information. The next morning, the Gang was sailing above the clouds, heading toward the Northern Air Temple. As they flew, Aang spotted snow capped mountains. "Hey, we're almost at the Northern Air Temple!" Aang told his friends."This is where they had the championships for sky bison polo."
"That was fun. It would be nice if we could do that again," Gohan said.
"Do you think we'll really find Airbenders?" Katara asked her brother, who was carving something out of wood.
"You want me to be like you, or totally honest?" Sokka shot back.
"Are you saying I'm a liar?" Katara questioned while folding her arms.
"I'm saying you're an optimist. Same thing basically," he responded.
"Hey guys, look at this!" Aang alerted his friends when he saw the Northern Air Temple. Just like the Southern one, this temple stood on a mountain peak. But unlike its sister temple, the Northern temple had people swerving all around it in mid-air while smoke was flowing out of the temple, indicating that people were living there.
Katara gasped at the sight of the people in the air. "They really are Airbenders!"
But as they got closer to the temple, Aang and Gohan saw the truth. "No, they're not," Gohan corrected her.
"What do you mean they're not? Those guys are flying!" Sokka stated.
"No, Gohan's right,"Aang said while frowning. "They're gliding, not flying. You can tell by the way they move. They're not airbending. Those people have no spirit." The monk then spotted one of the gliders heading toward them. On it was a young boy wearing goggles with an inability to use his legs, thus having to be in a wheelchair that was connected to the glider. The Water Tribe siblings ducked as he sailed over their heads and laughed. "I don't know, Aang. That kid seems pretty spirited!" Katara said while pointing to the boy. The glider flew past Appa again and looked back at Aang, smirking. Accepting the challenge, Aang smiled before he jumped off of his bison and opened his glider to join the boy in the air.
The other gliders started flying all around the Gang, making it a little hard for Appa and Icarus to fly. Katara was suddenly flung backward into her brother. "We better find some solid ground before it finds us!" Sokka suggested. The flying beasts quickly landed on the temple's veranda.
The boy in the wheelchair continued to laugh as he soared through the skies with Aang on his tail. Although the glider was enjoying their game, Aang, on the other hand, was still upset. The kids down below were watching the aerial competition between the two gliders. "Go Teo! Show that bald kid how it's done!" one of the kids cheered. Teo and Aang continued to play follow the leader as they flew above the clouds. They swerved in the air as Aang pursued Teo all the way to the side of the temple where the two were eventually neck and neck. The gliders flew downward as they circled each other.
"Hey there! You're pretty good," Teo complimented Aang.
"Yeah, I know," Aang agreed. "But I can do more than fancy gliding!"
The two gliders looped through the air, and the Airbender flew toward one of the temple towers. He then let go of his glider and ran very fast along the side of the wall. He created an air scooter and rode it on the tower side with the glider flying right above him. Then he released the air scooter and hung back onto his glider. Teo watched in astonishment as Aang glided back beside him. "Wow! I don't think I can do that! But here's a good one..." Teo said. The back of his wheelchair pulled a wire to open a small orb and started releasing a smoke stream through the sky. He began to loop and swerve through the air with the smoke trail following his every move. After one final swoop, the smoke trail ceased and there was an image of Aang's bitter expression in the sky; the children laughed at it while Aang frowned.
"What do you think?" Teo asked the monk.
"It's great," Aang responded, but didn't mean it.
The two flew toward the temple balcony. Aang descended next to his friends and closed his staff. Teo made a hard landing, causing him to slide roughly until he pulled the break on his wheelchair, immediately stopping himself. His friends then removed the glider attached to his wheelchair and he wheeled over to the Gang.
"Hey! You're a real Airbender!" Teo stated when he observed Aang."You must be the Avatar! That's amazing! I-I-I've heard stories about you."
"Thanks," Aang said, flustered.
"Wow! This glider chair is incredible!" Sokka exclaimed as he examined the glider set for Teo's wheelchair.
"If you think this is good, wait until you see the other stuff my Dad designed," Teo replied.
Teo moved toward the temple entrance with the Gang following close behind. They were soon led to the main chamber, which was full of steam-powered mechanisms, wheels, gears, and pipelines along with things of Airbender religion. Aang and Gohan's eyes wandered around as they observed the changes in the place they used to visit a century ago. A statue of an Airbender now had pipes attached to its head as it rotted away. Everywhere, different types of machinery were working throughout the main chamber. Aang seem to grow more disappointed the more he saw.
"Wow!" Sokka exclaimed.
"Yeah, my Dad is the mastermind behind this whole place!" Teo explained "Everything's powered by hot air. It even pumps hot air currents outside to give us a lift when we're gliding." As he spoke, a woman stepped into a cage where steam from the bottom hoisted the cage to a higher level.
"This place is unbelievable," Aang said.
"Yeah, it's great isn't it?" Teo stated.
"No, just unbelievable," Aang repeated himself before walking away sadly.
"Aang used to come here a long time ago. I think he's a little shocked it's so... different," Katara elaborated nicely to Teo.
"So better!" Sokka corrected.
Katara and Gohan walked over to Aang, who was staring at another part of the chamber that was different. The mural of the Air Nation on the wall that was once inspiringly marvelous now had numerous tubes piercing into and sticking out of it, not to mention multiple cracks, making it dreary and vile. "This is supposed to be the history of my people." Aang said.
"I know this is a lot to take in, but it's been a century; someone was bound to claim this place and make it their own," Gohan told him. "To tell you the truth, I'm actually glad these people are living here. I was kinda afraid that this place would be just like the Southern Air Temple, void and lifeless."
"So was I, but I didn't expect a bunch of outsiders to be living here." Aang replied. "I can't believe how much this place has change."
Katara places her hand on Aang's shoulder, but he shrugged it off and went over to another part of the chamber. Aang walked over to a fountain that was gushing out green liquid into its basin. The fountain then releases a mist of black smoke which startles Aang. Katara comes up to comfort him. "I'm sure some parts of the temple are still the same." she assured the depressed monk.
A few minutes later, Teo and the Gang move on to another part of the temple. They entered the courtyard where many statues of great monks showed no sign of change. "It's nice to see even one part of the temple that isn't ruined." Aang pointed out.
"Look out!"a voice cried from nowhere. The head of one of the statues is suddenly blown clean off by a wrecking ball, causing dust to fly everywhere. When the dust clears, a big hole is seen where the statue once was; middle aged man with a monocle and an apron along with some construction workers were on the other side of the wall. The man stepped through the hole into the courtyard to address the Gang. "What the doodle! Don't you know enough to stay away from construction sites? We have to make room for the bathhouse!" He said.
"Do you know what you did? You just destroyed something sacred! For a stupid bathhouse!" Aang yelled furiously.
"Well yeah, people around here are really starting to stink." the man said while waving his hand in front of his noise.
"This whole place stinks!" Aang yelled now enraged. He swung his staff, creating a wind blast that knocked the wrecking ball off the mountain."This is a sacred temple! You can't treat it this way. I've seen it when the monks were here. I know what it's supposed to be like."
"The monks? But you're 14!" the Mechanist said in disbelief from observing Aang.
"Dad, he's the Avatar. He used to come here a hundred years ago." Teo cleared his father's confusion.
"What are you doing here? Who said you could be here?" the Avatar demanded to know.
"Hmmm... doing here...A long time ago, but not a hundred years, my people became refugees after a terrible flood. My infant son, Teo, was badly hurt and lost his mother." the Mechanist held back tears after remembering his tragic past. "I needed somewhere to rebuild and I stumbled across this place. Couldn't believe it! Everywhere pictures of flying people. But empty! Nobody home! Then I came across these fan like contraptions!"
"Our gliders!" Aang corrected the man.
"Yes, little light flying machines. They gave me an idea." the Mechanist continued to explain."Build a new life for my son, in the air! Then everyone would be on equal ground, so to speak! We're just in the process of improving upon what's already here and after all, isn't that what nature does?"
Although his friends were moved by the Mechanist's speech, Aang still seemed a little unnerved. "Nature knows when to stop." He said.
"I suppose that's true." the Mechanist agreed with the monk. "Unfortunately, progress has a way of getting away from us." his face became depressed again until his attention was grabbed by three lit candles. "Look at the time." He then turned to his men. "Come, the pulley system must be oiled before dark!"
"Wait, how can you tell the time from that thing?" Sokka asked the man."The notches all look the same."
"The candle will tell us." the Mechanist replied. "Watch."
The two stared at the candle in the middle. The flame suddenly popped four times. "You put spark powder in the candle." Sokka said, amazed.
"Four flashes, so it's exactly four hours past midday." the Mechanist explained. "Or as I like to call it four 'o candle." Sokka laughed at the man's joke, which made him smile. "If you like that, wait till you see my finger safe knife sharpener. Only took me three tries to get it right." The Mechanist held up his hand and removed the three fake fingers. He tossed them to the tribesman, who instinctively caught them and gasped.
"Ahem," someone coughed, getting everyone's attention. They all turned to where the voice came from and saw a teenage boy standing in the entrance to the courtyard. By the looks of it, he didn't appear that much older than Gohan and he had the same spiky black hair and black eyes he had. His outfit consisted of a crimson colored gi, a black long sleeve undershirt, a teal belt, black shoes, and a gold cape. He was leaning against the wall, crossing his arms. "Am I interrupting?" he asked.
"Ah, Beat! Nice of you to drop by!" the Mechanist greeted the boy. "How are you?"
"Hello Mechanist. I'm fine, thank you," Beat greeted back before he entered the courtyard. "How are things with you?"
"I'm, uh, still working on my… latest invention," the Mechanist replied while sweating. "But rest assured, I'll have it up and running in no time." He seemed a little nervous about answering the boy, which the Gang noticed.
"Who are you?" Gohan asked the boy.
Beat raised an eyebrow at the spiky haired teen before stepping into the courtyard to approach the Gang. Before he could introduce himself, the Mechanist spoke up. "This is Beat. He comes by every now and then to assist me in my work if ever required." Beat then walked past Teo and greeted him. "Hey Teo, nice to see you again."
"Likewise, Beat," Teo greeted back.
When Beat stopped walking, he stood directly in front of the Gang, specifically Gohan. The Son of Goku stared at the new boy with curiosity, which the boy returned. "Have we met before? You seem really familiar," Gohan questioned the boy.
"I feel the same way about you, pal," Beat replied.
Gohan's mind was suddenly drawn back to another time.
Flashback –An older version of Gohan, about twenty years old, was standing in the air. The sky looked reddish-orange with a little yellow as if it were always dawn. There were spiked mountains all over the area, a large pool of red liquid that had a huge mountain spike that held a giant crystal ball. White formless beings were floating through the sky, needles were sticking out of the ground everywhere, and there was an apple tree that produced blue apples in some sort of garden.
Next to Gohan were a younger teen, a man, a different version of Prince Trunks, and Beat. He, the teen, and Beat all had gold spiky hair; the other man and Trunks had the same hairstyle but their hair was long enough to reach their backs. The five Ki benders were battling against what could possibly be the weirdest if not the scariest looking creature that Gohan had ever laid eyes on. The enemy creature charged at the team of fighters; they all looked at each other and nodded before charging at the enemy.
Flashback ends
"You're an Energy bender?" Aang inquired. "So is Gohan."
That comment was enough to snap Gohan back into reality. The new boy looked toward the Son of Goku questionably. "So you're an Energy bender too huh?" Beat asked Gohan.
"Yeah," Gohan replied. "Just like you."
"But you're not from the Fire Nation like a few I've met in my travels," Beat pointed out.
"I was raised by the Air Nomads," Gohan answered.
"Interesting," Beat said. "I'm curious to see how strong you are, so how about a sparring match?"
"Sounds like fun!" Gohan replied with a smile.
"Great! Let's go now!" Beat requested. The Two Ki benders started walking away from the temple courtyard. Right after they left, the Mechanist instructed Sokka to follow him as he was leaving the courtyard. Soon it was only Aang, Katara, and Teo left in the patio. "Hey Aang, I wanna show you something," Teo said to the monk.
Seconds later, Teo was leading the Avatar and the Waterbender through the temple hallway. "I just can't get over it. There's not a single thing that's the same," Aang stated.
Teo stopped moving and picked up a hermit crab as he spoke. "I don't know about that. The Temple might be different, but the creatures that live here are probably direct descendents of the ones that lived here a long time ago." He then passed the crab to Katara.
"You're right." Katara agreed. "They're kind of keepers of the temples origins." She passed the crab to Aang, who smiled.
"Besides, there's one part of the temple that hasn't changed at all," Teo assured them.
The three then found themselves in front of a large door. It was a huge wooden door that had three wooden air symbols sticking out of the door in an upside down triangle like formation. Each emblem was connected by tubes that took the shape of a circle, aside from the two horns at the bottom. It was an exact replica of the door to the Sanctuary at the Southern Air Temple. "Hey! It's just like the one in the other Air Temple," the Water tribe girl pointed out.
"Only an Airbender can open it – so inside it's completely untouched, just the way the monks left it," Teo told the Airbender. "I've always wondered what it was like in there." Although he was aware of what Teo was asking, Aang didn't seem to want to help at all.
"Aang?" Katara asked her friend.
The monk lowered his head before replying, "I'm sorry, this is the last part of the temple that's the same as it was. I want it to stay that way."
"I completely understand. I just wanted you to know it was here," Teo responded, though he was a little disappointed.
"Thank you," was all Aang could say before the three walked away from the Sanctuary door.
Elsewhere, the Mechanist was leading Sokka down a dark, thin stairway. The source of light they had was from dim lanterns that were powered by fireflies. "These lanterns are terrible! I can't see," Sokka complained. He opened the lid to see the numerous lightning bugs inside, allowing one to escape. "Why would you ever want to use fireflies for light?" he asked.
"Hey! Close that up! They'll get loose!" the Mechanist warned the teen."Fireflies are a non-flammable light source." The two proceeded until they came across a sealed door. The slight leaks in the door were blocked by a caulk. The Mechanist felt the caulk before turning to Sokka. "Cover your nose and hold your breath," he instructed. He then opened the panel on the door and the two peeked inside the chamber.
"Okay, so you brought me all the way down here to see an empty room," Sokka said.
"Wrong," the Mechanist replied as he closed the panel. "It's filled to the brim with natural gas. Came across it my first time here. Unfortunately, I was carrying a torch at the time. Nearly blew myself and the whole place even more sky high. Thought my eyebrows would never grow back!" He raised his lantern to his head to show the result of his first time at this gas chamber."Anyway, there's a vital problem that needs solving. From time to time we have gas leaks and they're nearly impossible to find." Both men started checking the door for leaks.
"So this place is an explosion waiting to happen?" Sokka asked the Mechanist.
"Yes, until I figure out how to locate something I can't see, hear, smell, or touch." the inventor replied.
Outside the temple, Gohan and Beat were standing face to face on a nearby cliff. The wind blew around them as they stared at each other anxiously. "You ready to do this?" Beat asked Gohan.
"Wait a minute," Gohan said before taking off his sword and placing it aside. He flexed his back a few times before taking a fighting position. "Now I'm ready."
Beat nodded before taking his own stance. "Alright then, show me what you got."
"Okay!" Gohan responded. He started off by rushing at his opponent. Gohan swung his right arm, intending to hand chop Beat, but he blocked the attack with his left arm. Beat countered by throwing a punch at Gohan, which he ducked. Gohan retaliated by kicking at Beat multiple times, but he dodged every strike. He then grabbed Gohan's leg and tossed him into the cliffside. Gohan quickly burst out and nailed Beat in the face with a skull bash attack. Beat backflipped to land a few inches away on his feet and rushed at his opponent. He punched Gohan in the gut before knocking him on the head.
Gohan sat up and rubbed his head as he glared at Beat. "Is that all you got?" he asked. "Hardly!" Gohan replied as he stood up and ran toward Beat. He started throwing multiple strikes at his sparring partner, but he blocked every attack before kicking the son of Goku away. Gohan bounced off a rock and charged at Beat once more. He managed to land a kick to Beat's gut before back flipping away. Beat charged at Gohan to punch him, but his assault was blocked. Beat started throwing multiple punches at Gohan, who dodged all of them before jumping into the sky.
"Hey, get back down here!" Beat cried when Gohan stayed airborne.
"Why don't you just follow me up here?" Gohan inquired.
"Don't be ridiculous, I can't fly!" Beat replied.
"You can't fly? But you're an Energy bender!" Gohan argued.
"That can't fly," Beat repeated.
Gohan was about to descend to the ground when he got an idea. He smirked at his opponent and said, "I'm afraid you're gonna have to make me come down, Beat!"
"What?!" Beat yelled. "You can't be serious!"
"You bet I'm serious!" Gohan said. "If you want to take me down, you'll have to do it while I'm in the air!" He then channeled Ki into his hands. "Rapid Fire!" He started firing multiple blasts at Beat. The teen started running very fast as the blasts detonated behind him. Gohan continued to fire as Beat continued to run. Beat then decided to stop fleeing and turned to facing the oncoming attack. He kicked it back at its launcher; Gohan simply deflected the attack with his hand. He smirked until he saw another energy blast coming at him; acting on instinct, he quickly bent backwards, just barely evading the attack. Gohan then looked down and saw Beat aiming with his hands while channeling Ki into them. "Try this! Blast Barrage!" Beat cried as he fired multiple energy blasts at his opponent.
Gohan zipped through the air as he dodged every Ki blast that was thrown at him. One of Beat's blast managed to hit Gohan, halting his movements and allowing Beat to blast Gohan repeatedly. Gohan was hit with so many blasts that it got to the point where he was consumed in a huge dark cloud of smoke. Beat eventually ceased firing to conserve his energy. When the smoke cleared, Beat could see that Gohan put up a golden energy barrier to shield himself from the blasts. The son of Goku released the force field before descending to the ground. The two fighters stared at each other for a minute before they charged at each other head on. They resumed trading blows with one another until they punched each other in the face. They backed away from each other and held their fighting positions. Slowly, the hard looks on their faces became smiles of enjoyment.
"That was fun," Gohan spoke as he dropped his stance.
"Ditto. You're pretty good, Gohan," Beat praised his opponent as he dropped his stance as well.
"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself," Gohan returned the compliment. "However, there is the issue of you being unable to fly."
"Yeah, guess that puts me at a disadvantage," Beat acknowledged his flaw. "Do you think you can teach me?"
"Sure, that shouldn't be too hard. You already know how to bend Ki as well as I can, so it's just a matter of showing you how to use it to fly," Gohan replied."We can start right now if you want."
"Sounds good," Beat agreed.
Back at the temple, many kids were gliding around the temple while Aang, Katara, and Teo stood at the temple terrace. Katara was holding her own glider and Teo was attempting to teach her the art of gliding. "The wind will carry you. It supports something inside you – something even lighter than air, and that something takes over when you fly," Teo explained.
Katara looked down from the edge of the balcony; seeing how high they were made her afraid and hesitant. "I've changed my mind. I think I was born without that something," she said.
"Impossible! Everybody has it!" Teo laughed.
"Spirit," Aang answered.
"What?" Teo asked.
"That's the something you're talking about," Aang clarified.
"Yeah, I suppose it is," Teo agreed. Minutes later, Katara stood at the edge of the balcony with her glider positioned over her. Teo had his own glider reattached to his wheelchair as he waited behind the Waterbender. "You ready?" he asked her.
"No," Katara replied. She jumped off the balcony regardless, and Teo flew after her. Katara's fearful screams soon turned into sounds of laughter as she glided through the air. Katara and Teo glided around the temple before they were joined by Aang. "I can't believe I'm flying!" Katara stated happily.
"Just make sure to keep your mouth closed so you don't swallow a bug!" Aang warned her. Momo flew beside them with his mouth open, allowing him to capture a few bugs.
"Teo was right about the air! All I had to do was trust it. Let it carry me," Katara stated.
"Even though Teo's not an Airbender, he really does have the spirit of one." The Airbender then flew toward the temple balcony and landed next to the Mechanist's son. "I've been thinking. If you wanna see what's in that room, I'd be happy to open the door for you," he offered Teo.
"Great," Teo said.
The two boys then looked up at Katara, who was calling out to them for help in landing. "Wait! How do I land this thing? What if I land – eh!" she started to ask before gagging. "Blech! Yech! Bug! Bug! That was a bug!"
Meanwhile, Gohan and Beat were relaxing on a mountain. The two Energy benders were sitting down in a meditative position face to face with their eyes closed. After a few minutes, Beat opened one of his eyes and looked at his teacher. "So, why are we doing this again?" Beat asked.
"Shh," Gohan instructed him. "You're supposed to be concentrating."
Beat closed his eye again, only to open both a few seconds later. "On what exactly?"
"The energy around you," Gohan replied. "When I was taught by the monks, they explained to me how channeling the energy around you and mixing it with your own will not only help you replenish your Ki, but it can also help you release your energy better."
"I know how to release my Ki," Beat said.
"I know you do, but its how you release that will help you to fly," Gohan said. "As a Ki bender you should be able to channel your Ki throughout your entire body, but you seem to focus on releasing it only through your hands."
"And meditating will help how?" Beat asked.
"Feel the energy around you, while at the same time channeling your own," Gohan answered. "It starts from your stomach, where your Ki is stored, and then spreads throughout your body calmly. Just close your eyes, relax your muscles, clear your mind, and concentrate."
Beat closed his eyes again and focused. Tiny specks of energy started flying around the two Energy benders, sticking to their skin like dandelions. Pretty soon, Beat and Gohan were surging with energy. Beat's came off like a red fiery aura, while Gohan's was white and sparked like electricity. Beat opened his eyes when he felt a strange sensation, and he gasped when he saw the Ki in the air around him along with his own Ki clashing with Gohan's.
"Stay calm," Gohan quickly told him. "Don't lose your focus."
Beat obeyed his teacher's instructions and continued to focus on channeling his Ki. After a few extra minutes of meditation, both Energy benders stood up while still emitting their Ki throughout their bodies. "Now all that's left for you to do is to release your Ki through the soles of your feet," Gohan told his pupil. He demonstrated by levitating himself into the air. "Focus on moving your energy downward and pushing it out your feet." Beat nodded before closing his eyes again. After five minutes, Beat started to slowly rise off the ground. Gohan smiled as he watched his student levitate himself. Pretty soon, Beat had managed to levitate himself to the same height as his teacher. "Congratulations, you've taken the first step in flying," Gohan said to Beat. "How do you feel?"
"I feel fine. Like I'm as light as air," Beat replied. "Feels like I'm still standing on something even when I know it's nothing. I didn't think it would be this easy."
"You're a fast learner," Gohan said. "Now let's see how high you can go."
Gohan immediately flew higher into the sky and Beat flew after him. The student continued to follow the teacher until both of them managed to rise above the clouds. "Wow, this is pretty high!" Beat observed as he stared down at the earth. He could see many mountains and the Northern Air Temple even though they appeared to be small from his point of view. "I can see the whole valley from up here!"
"So, are you tired yet?" Gohan asked.
"Are you kidding? I'm still full of energy!" Beat assured him.
"In that case, why don't you try moving forward?" Gohan instructed. "Just focus on releasing your Ki backward in order to move forward in the air."
"Got it!" Beat said. After two minutes his body started to slowly move forward. He stopped when he was a few inches away from his teacher. "How's that?" he asked.
"Pretty good," Gohan said. "Now it's time to kick it a notch."
"How?" Beat asked.
"Let's play follow the leader," Gohan suggested. "And I'm the leader." Immediately, Gohan flew away at high speeds to the right. Understanding what this was about, Beat quickly flew after his teacher. Gohan flew through the air with great speed; he looked behind himself to see Beat slowly catching up to him. Eventually, Beat flew right beside Gohan as the two Ki benders soared through the sky; they swerved upward before diving through the clouds. Gohan flew in every direction and Beat managed to follow him with ease. Finally, Gohan stopped himself and so did Beat. "Nicely done." Gohan applauded his student. "Now it's time to see how fast you can go."
"What game are gonna play now?" Beat questioned.
"Tag!" the Son of Goku replied before appearing in front of his pupil and tapping his chest. "And you're it!" Gohan flew away from his pupil faster than he could tag him back. The boy swam the skies with great speed with his new student right on his tail. Gohan glanced behind him to see his pursuer closing in on him fast. "Wow, he's a lot faster than I expected," Gohan thought. He smiled from the thrill he was getting from this speed chase. He quickly stopped and flew upward just as Beat tried to grab him. Beat fumbled a bit before going higher after Gohan, and soon the two fighters were neck and neck. Beat reached for Gohan again, but he zipped away from Beat's grasp.
The Son of Goku zipped through the air back and forth, making it very hard for Beat to tag him. Beat flew as fast as he could, but every time he got close to Gohan, he would instantly slip past Beat by changing direction. Gohan then dove toward one of the mountains and Beat flew after him. Gohan was a few inches away from Beat as they descended toward the mountain at high speed. Just as Gohan was about to collide with the hard surface, he swerved and flew back up. However, Beat, since his reaction time was slower than his teacher's, swerved and skidded across the ground, causing him to crash into the dirt.
He stood up and shook his head. He looked around for his teacher when he suddenly heard, "Over here!" from the temple mountain. Beat glared at him before charging toward him. Gohan smiled as Beat got closer without thinking about what Gohan was planning to do. At the last second, Gohan disappeared from Beat's sight, causing him to crash face-first into the mountain side before he could react. The impact caused Beat to fall unconscious before he started to fall down toward the valley. Gohan quickly flew after him and managed to grab his cape; he then carried him to another mountain and laid him against a tree before he sat down. A few minutes later, Beat woke up and looked towards his teacher, who was munching on some food. "How do you feel?" Gohan asked Beat.
"I've got a little headache, but the damage to my pride is greater," Beat replied as he sat up. "Guess I haven't aced flying yet."
Gohan nodded. "Being able to soar through the skies is one thing, but the ability to maneuver in midair with little reaction time is another, especially in a battle," Gohan told him. He then tossed Beat some of his food. "Eat up and get some rest to regain your strength. I'm going to check on my friends, but we'll continue our training later." Beat nodded before he started to eat while his teacher flew back to the Air Temple.
At the Temple, the Mechanist was in his workshop with Sokka. The old inventor was looking at some plans for a new machine while Sokka was looking at some of the things on the shelf. The tribesman knocked off a few things, which got the Mechanist's attention. "I said don't touch anything!" the inventor said to the boy before a few more things fell from the shelf. The Mechanist went to help Sokka pick up the stuff. "Oh, don't worry, that experiment's old, and that was part of last week's lunch."
"Ugh! Week old egg smell!" Sokka gagged after sniffing the air.
"Quick! Find that egg!" the Mechanist warned as he and Sokka started crawling around the workshop in search of the rotten egg.
Meanwhile, Aang, Katara, and Teo are standing in front of the Sanctuary door as the Avatar prepared to open it. "I can't believe I'm finally going to see what's inside!" Teo exclaimed. Just then, Gohan came running up to them. "Hey guys, what's going on?" he inquired. "Aang's about to open the Sanctuary doors," Katara answered him. The Air Nomad took a stance and thrust his hands forward, bending two wind streams into the horns on the door. The air traveled through the pipes and two of the three Air insignias flipping over while releasing air.
Back at the work shop, Sokka and the Mechanist were still frantically searching for the week old egg. "How could something that's so small you can't even see it make such a big stink?!" Sokka asked.
"That's the solution to our problem!" the Mechanist exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Sokka agreed, having the same idea as the Mechanist. The two idealists turned to face each other as they continued to discuss the solution. "If we put a whole mess of rotten eggs in the cellar where the gas seeps up..."
"The gas will mix with the smell of rotten eggs..." the Mechanist continued.
"Then, if there's a leak..." Sokka stated.
"You smell rotten eggs! Then you just follow your nose to the place where the smell is coming from..." the Mechanist went on.
"And plug up the hole where the gas is escaping!" Sokka concluded before he and the Mechanist both raised their arms in excitement and exclaimed, "You're a genius!" A bell in the workshop suddenly started ringing. "Something's wrong, I've got to go," the Mechanist said urgently. He then hurried out the workshop and Sokka followed after him.
The final Air insignia flipped over and the Sanctuary doors opened slowly. The four teens stepped inside the Sanctuary wearing terrified expressions. The room that was supposed to contain statues of the previous Avatars now held many weapons, machines, and torture devices, but worst of all was the unfinished war balloon that bore the symbol that represented who these weapons were made for: The Fire Nation. "What is this?" Gohan asked in disbelief.
"This is a nightmare," Aang stated in horror.
The Mechanist soon appeared behind the children in dismay with Sokka right behind him. "You don't understand," he said.
The Avatar turned to the inventor and jabbed a finger at him. "You're making weapons for the Fire Nation!" he declared in anger. His accusation seemed to sadden the old man.
"You make weapons for the Fire Nation!?" Sokka asked in anger and disbelief. The Mechanist's expression grew sadder and he stared down in shame.
"Explain all this! Now!" Teo demanded.
"It was about a year after we moved here. Fire Nation soldiers found our settlement. You were too young to remember this tale. They were going to destroy everything, burn it to the ground. I pleaded with them; I begged them to spare us. They asked what I had to offer. I offered... my services." After explaining, the father pleaded with his son."You must understand, I did this for you!" The boy only turned away from his father, feeling hurt. The Mechanist left the children to continue his work.
Minutes later, he was back in his workshop experimenting on his model version of the war balloon that held two eggs in it. He let the balloon float to the ceiling when Aang, Gohan, and Teo entered his workshop. "When are they coming?" Aang asked immediately.
"Soon. Very soon," the Mechanist replied after looking at his candle for the time. "Beat's arrival was a message that they were coming today."
"Beat's a member of the Fire Nation?" Gohan asked, surprised. The inventor nodded in response.
"You can't give them more weapons," Aang warned him.
"If I don't give them what they want, they will destroy this place," the Mechanist argued.
"We understand why you're helping them, but your inventions should be used to help people like it helped your son," Gohan admonished. "If you continue to aid them in this war, more people will suffer." The model balloon floated in front of them before bursting into flames and crashing into the ground. The Mechanist grabbed a cloth and started dousing the fire with it.
"How can I be proud of you when your inventions are being used for murder?" Teo asked his father.
The Mechanist looked at his son and replied, "I need some time to think." A tinkling bell suddenly started ringing, which alarmed the Mechanist. "You need to leave! Go!" he told the boys.
"We're not leaving!" Teo stated.
"Then hide, quickly!" the Mechanist said as he directed the boys to behind some things. He then pulled on a rope that opened a trap door. Steam came out of the entrance seconds before a middle-aged man in a Fire Nation robe was elevated to the workshop.
"You know better than to keep me waiting. Give me what you owe us so I can be on my way," the Emissary ordered the inventor while approaching him. The boys watched as the Mechanist looked down in hesitation, which disturbed the Emissary. "Well? Is there a problem?" the Emissary asked as he got in the Mechanist's face.
"No, right this way," the Mechanist responded as he directed him to the exit of his workshop. The War minister walked toward the door before it was suddenly slammed shut by an air wave, courtesy of Aang. The Airbender and the Ki bender jumped in front of the door with angry expressions.
"The deal's off!" Aang declared.
"The Avatar!" the War minister announced in shock.
"Boys, don't get involved!" the Mechanist warned them.
"If I don't get what I came for, the Fire Nation will burn this place to rubble!" the Emissary declared as he pointed at the Mechanist.
"That's not going to happen, not on our watch!" Gohan proclaimed as he pointed his sword at the Emissary, making him back away.
"Get out of here!" Aang ordered the man as he smacked him with an air blast. "You're leaving empty handed!"
"Then the destruction of this temple will be on your heads," the Emissary assured them.
"We won't let you burn this place down!" Gohan declared. "And tell Beat, I'll see him soon for another training session."
The War minister then left through the same trap door he entered and Aang closed it with an air wave. Moments later, the Gang and Teo were on one of the temple bridges, trying to come up with a plan to protect the temple from the Fire Nation's inevitable attack. "This is bad! Very bad!" Sokka stated.
"Aang, what are we gonna do?" Katara asked the monk. "How can we possibly keep them all away?"
"I'll tell ya how," Aang replied. He then pointed to the skies where a few kids were gliding. "We have something they don't. Air power! We control the sky. That' something the Fire Nation can't do. We can win!"
"I want to help!" the Mechanist stated as he approached the Gang and smiled.
"Good, we'll need it," the Avatar said as he and Teo smiled back. Aang then noticed his brother walking away from the group. "Gohan, where are you going?"
"You guys will have to do this without me; I have some unfinished business with Beat," Gohan replied. Before anyone could respond to his answer, the Son of Goku jumped of the temple bridge and flew off into the air.
The Gang, along with Teo and his friends, were all in the Mechanist's workshop, where the Mechanist and Sokka were explaining how they got the war balloon to work properly. "We finally got the war balloon working, thanks to Sokka," the Mechanist praised the tribesman. "This boy's a genius!"
"Thank you. You're a genius!" Sokka praised him back.
"Thank you!" the Mechanist accepted the returned praise. The back and forth praise made Aang and Katara annoyed as they shared strange looks while turning to each other.
"See, the problem with the old war balloon was you could get it airborne, but once you did, it just kept going." Sokka demonstrated with the model balloon as he elucidated. "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?"
"Ugh, if only we knew," Katara mumbled, which made her, Aang, and Teo laugh.
"A lid is actually the answer," Sokka stated." If you control the hot air, you control the war balloon."
After hearing Sokka's solution, the three teens stared at him in amazement. "Hmm. That's actually pretty smart," Katara agreed.
"Okay, we've got four kinds of bombs," Sokka began to explain the weaponry. "Smoke, slime, fire and..."
"...stink. Never underestimate the power of stink!" the Mechanist advised.
Meanwhile, Beat was standing on the mountain where Gohan left him. He stood there patiently waiting when his teacher descended in front of him. Gohan's face held a neutral expression while Beat smirked at him. "My boss told me you'd be here," Beat taunted. "Ready for another training session?"
"You're with the Fire Nation, aren't you?!" Gohan said more than asked in a stern voice.
Beat's face became serious. "If you know that, then you know that defying my boss' demands means the Temple must fall," he said.
"Beat, this is wrong!" Gohan said. "First you guys were using the Mechanist to make weapons for hurting people, and now you're just going to wipe out the Temple and its people!"
"You shouldn't have gotten involved; it wasn't supposed to be this way," Beat growled.
"We had no choice; we couldn't allow you or the Fire Nation to use our Temple to manufacture weapons for war!" Gohan argued.
"Then you leave me no choice, the Temple must be destroyed!" Beat said. He then raised his hand at Gohan, who stood directly in front of his view of the Air Temple, while channeling Ki throughout his body. "Now step aside!"
"So that's it? You're just gonna use my teachings to destroy the place I care about?!"Gohan questioned his pupil.
"You may have taught me how to fly and how to control my Ki better, but my guidance and loyalty has always been with the Fire Nation. This is a time of war, and I choose to side with the Nation that raised me!" Beat replied.
"Well, so do I!" Gohan stated as he started emitting his own Ki.
"So be it!" Beat said. He then fired an energy blast at his former teacher. Gohan quickly blocked it by crossing his arms. He lowered his arms and saw that Beat was gone. He immediately turned around and saw his opponent flying toward the Northern Air Temple. Gohan quickly ascended and flew after him. In a few seconds, Gohan managed to get close enough to grab Beat's cape and toss him backward. Beat caught himself and glared at his foe, who was holding out his arms in a defensive position. Gohan entered a fighting position while wearing a determined expression. "If you want to get to the Temple, you'll have to get through me!" he declared.
"You can't stop both me and the army!" Beat stated.
"My brother and his friends will handle the army!" Gohan assured. "But you won't be going anywhere until you beat me!" He smirked at his own joke.
"Fine!" Beat complied as he took his own fighting stance. The two fighters flared their Ki, which came out like fiery auras. Their energies expanded to the point where they began to push against each other. They eventually charged at each other and started trading blows. Gohan managed to land the first hit when he palm struck Beat's chest. Beat flinched, allowing Gohan to kick him in the face. Beat grit his teeth as he fired two Ki blasts at Gohan; the Son of Goku deflected the first attack but was hit in the face by the second one. Beat then flew above his opponent and clamped his hands together before swinging them downward, knocking Gohan down. The Ki bender of the Air nation quickly recovered and flew back at Beat, elbow bashing him in the chin. Beat countered by gut punching Gohan.
The two then resumed their battle before Beat flew back a bit and started firing multiple energy blasts at Gohan. The former teacher started deflecting all the blasts with ease. Beat then fired a big energy blast that Gohan caught with his hands. Beat then appeared behind Gohan and launched another big energy blast at his back. The blast made contact with its target, detonating and causing the first one to explode as well, consuming Gohan in the process. Beat's view of Gohan was blocked by a cloud of smoke. He suddenly heard Gohan shout, "Masenko…Ha!" and saw a purplish-gold beam heading straight toward him.
He quickly dodged it just as Gohan flew up to him and punched him in the stomach. Beat countered by kicking Gohan in the chin; Gohan paid him back with a hand chop to the face. Beat then elbow bashed Gohan in the face and Gohan skull bashed him, followed by Beat kneeing his former teacher in the chin. The two then reeled their fists back before swinging full force and punching each other in the face.
Elsewhere, Aang, Katara, Appa, Momo, Teo, and many of the other gliders were lined up at the Temple balcony along with inhabitants of the Air Temple. Some of the children were looking over the edge for the army. "They're coming!" a little girl cried.
"Are we ready?" Teo asked.
"Yes, but where's Sokka with the war balloon?" Katara questioned as she looked for her brother.
"We'll have to start without him," Aang declared as he jumped off his Sky Bison and opened his glider staff. Teo grinned as he put on his goggles; all the gliders were lined up in two rows with Aang and Teo in the lead. Teo gave a thumbs up to one of the other gliders, and then Aang ran off the balcony and started to fly. Katara pushed Teo's wheelchair and he took off as well. Pretty soon, all of the children started gliding through the air with the people cheering. The gliders soared above the clouds where they were hidden from the Fire Nation troops scaling the temple mountain. The gliders then dove down the mountain and start dropping multiple bombs on the Fire soldiers. Some of them fell off the mountain trail.
"Take them out of the sky, now!" one of the soldiers ordered.
The Fire soldiers readied their spears as the gliders circled back, but smoke bombs were thrown at them, blinding them and making them cough due to the smoke. The gliders continued to throw bombs at the Fire Nation troops. Aang then jumped off his glider and started to ride on his air scooter; he rode on the trail, knocking some snow off the path before jumping back onto his glider. The small avalanche collapsed onto the soldiers as it slid down the mountain; the remaining soldiers started to flee back down the mountain trail.
"We've got 'em on the run! We need more slime!" Aang exclaimed.
Above the clouds, Appa was stationary by the side of the mountain as the gliders passed by him either ascending or descending. Katara and Momo were handing more bombs to the gliders as they swooped over the sky bison. Suddenly, several grappling hooks shoot out of the clouds, barely missing Appa, who flew away to evade them. The hooks latched onto the mountain and multiple tanks were pulled upward. Each tank had four spiked wheels, allowing them to scale the mountain with ease. The gliders quickly dropped more bombs onto the tanks, but they did nothing to slow them down. The Avatar slammed his staff into the mountain right above one of the grappling hooks and heaved it off the cliffside.
The tank started to descend but another grappling hook was launched upward; Aang quickly dodged it and it latched onto the mountain, allowing the tank to resume scaling the mountain. The tanks made it up the cliff and began approaching the Temple on a flat surface. The Firebenders inside started shooting fireballs at the gliders, which they avoided before dropping more bombs onto the tanks, only for them to once again prove to be ineffective. One of the slime bombs landed inside the tank, sliming all the soldiers inside. Aang landed in the middle of four tanks and used his airbending to blow them away. The tanks landed upside down in the snow, but the center cabins simply flipped over and the machines resumed moving. They started firing at the Airbender and he jumped onto one of the tanks to avoid the fire attacks.
"Those things are unstoppable!" Katara stated as she rode on Appa over the tanks with Teo beside her.
"I think I know how they work," Teo replied. "I remember my Dad tinkering with the counterbalancing system. Something to do with water. Works great, huh?"
"Water? Can you get me close to one?" Katara asked as she got an idea.
"No problem!" Teo said.
Aang continued to deflect fireballs from the five tanks while countering with his own air strikes. His attacks proved futile and the tanks slowly moved toward him. Teo suddenly swooped over them and dropped Katara beside the Avatar. The Waterbender blew ice cold steam at one of the tanks, freezing it in place. She then bended the water inside, causing bolts to fly out, and the wheels fell off the tank. One of the tanks fired a grappling hook at Aang, grabbing his staff in the process, but Katara froze it with more ice, causing it to collapse on the ground, dismantled. Although they took care of two of the tanks, there were still many more coming at them. Aang leapt in front of Katara and started batting fireballs away as two tanks moved in closer. The sky Bison then appeared in front of the benders and knocked the two tanks away. The two climbed onto Appa's saddle and ascended back to the skies, where they saw multiple tanks and soldiers approaching the temple. It didn't seem like they would win this battle. They flew back to the balcony to regroup with the other gliders.
"We're out of bombs!" Teo told them.
"Come on, Sokka," Katara pleaded. "Where's that war balloon?"
Her question was answered when the first War Balloon floated up from the Temple, carrying four large sacks/slime bombs. The balloon was red with a black fire nation insignia. Sokka and the Mechanist were riding in the balloon's basket. The balloon sailed over the Fire Nation troops, who ignored it and proceeded with storming up to the Temple. "Hey, why aren't they shooting at us?" Sokka asked.
"The insignia! They think we're on their side!" the Mechanist exclaimed.
"Then I guess they won't see this coming," Sokka said as he cut off one of the sacks with his knife.
"Bombs away!" the Mechanist yelled as the sack fell onto the Fire Nation invaders. The sack exploded when it hit the ground, creating a large wave of slime that washed the Fire soldiers away. The two geniuses dropped the three other slime bombs, stopping most of the soldiers but leaving the tanks unharmed. "Oh no! That was the last one!" Sokka shouted worriedly as the tanks started to grapple themselves onto the next cliff.
"Wait a second, you smell that?" the Mechanist asked while sniffing the air.
"Rotten eggs!" Sokka replied. The two then looked down and manage to locate the smell from within a crevasse. "There! That's where the gas is escaping!" After thinking for a moment, the water tribesman got an idea as the tanks got closer to the temple. A few residents attempted to dislodge the grappling hooks, but their efforts were futile. Sokka then started to heave the coal-burning plant that supplied the hot air to the balloon, off the basket.
"What are you doing?!" the Mechanist asked the teen. "That's our fuel source!"
"It's the only bomb we've got!" Sokka explained. After one more heave, the two managed to throw the furnace down the crevasse. Everyone anxiously waited as the soldiers got closer to the temple. The Air temple was suddenly surrounded by a large fiery explosion due to the coal furnace igniting the escaping gas. The temple was eventually consumed by a wall of black smoke; when it finally cleared, the grappling hooks were seen broken as part of the mountain was destroyed. The Fire soldiers started to flee back down the mountain while the inhabitants of the Air temple watched.
"Look! They're retreating!" Aang announced.
"Yeah!" the people cheered in triumph.
"We're going down!" Sokka yelled as the balloon started to plummet toward the ground.
"No! Sokka! Hold on!" Katara yelled to her brother.
The Avatar immediately opened his glider staff and flew after the balloon. The war balloon continued to descend as it lost more hot air."Get ready!" Sokka instructed the Mechanist as he twirled a rope with his boomerang at the end. Aang soared by the balloon, and Sokka threw his boomerang. It hooked onto Aang's foot and the Airbender flew back to the temple with the two inventors trailing behind him as the balloon descended below the mountain.
Back with Gohan, the two Energy benders were still going at it. They grabbed each other's hands and started pushing against each other with their Ki. Gohan eventually broke their struggle and fired an energy blast that knocked Beat away. The Ki bender of the Fire Nation regained his balance and charged at his foe. He kicked Gohan upward before flying after him; Gohan shook it off and started flying away from Beat. They both flew through the air with Gohan in the lead, but every maneuver Gohan made, Beat managed to keep up with him. "So, he's gotten better and in a short time," Gohan thought. "Well, let's see if he's learned from last time."
Gohan suddenly sky rocketed upward and Beat followed him. Beat raised an eyebrow at Gohan's strategy. Gohan quickly swerved and dove toward one of the cliffs with Beat on his tail. Just as they were inches away from the cliff, Gohan swerved swiftly and flew back up like before while Beat couldn't react fast enough, but before he could make impact, he shouted, "Not this time!" as he swung one of his arms and fired an energy blast at the mountain. The explosion propelled him away from the cliffside and toward his enemy. Gohan turned around and his eyes grew wide when he saw Beat coming at him incredibly fast. He was elbow bashed in the face before Beat flew above him and hit him with a massive Ki blast. Gohan crashed into the mountain and Beat started firing multiple energy attacks at the cliff.
When he stopped, the cliffside was covered with smoke. Beat glared at the place where his opponent crashed as he waited patiently. "Ka…me…ha…me…ha!"Gohan cried as he fired a blue energy beam at Beat. The former pupil crossed his arms to withstand the attack. The beam exploded on impact, and Beat's body was smoking from the attack, but he stood firm. Gohan stepped out from where he crashed and stood on the mountain ledge. The two stared at each other as the wind blew around them. "We don't have to do this Beat, you're not a Firebender!" Gohan stated.
"And you're not an Airbender," Beat argued. "Yet you side with an extinct nation when you should be siding with the strongest Nation."
"What makes you think the Fire Nation is the strongest?" Gohan asked.
"The fact that we're winning this war! No matter what the cost or the sacrifice, all that matters in the end is the Fire Nation conquering the world!"
"How can you just help the Fire Nation spread fear and pain to every nation?" Gohan asked in disbelief.
"Because I've seen what this war does, and what I've learned is that it's best to choose the winning side than the losing!" Beat replied.
"That's not true! You don't have to side with the Fire Nation just because they're winning!" Gohan assured him. "You're an Energy bender, Beat; you can use your gifts to help end this war, to help people rather than hurt them. I know deep down you're a good person like me!"
Beat simply closed his eyes and said, "There's no point in talking anymore! It's time to end this fight and see to it that your temple burns to the ground, even if I have to do it alone!" He then cupped his hands together and started chanting. "Ka…me…ha…me…" "I can't believe he knows my father's technique," Gohan thought as he watched a blue sphere of Ki start to form and expand in between his palms. Gohan looked down in disappointment before looking back up in determination. "This is a new move I've been meaning to try out; I didn't think I would it on a friend, but I guess I have no choice." He started channeling all of his Ki into his fists. His hands were eventually consumed by his expanding energy. "Here I come!" he cried as he jumped and flew toward Beat.
"This ends now!" Beat declared before thrusting his hands forward. "Haaa!" He fired a much larger blue beam at his charging opponent. Gohan made no attempt to dodge the attack and instead threw his left fist forward. "What's he doing?!" Beat thought as he watched Gohan's counter strike. The Son of Goku's Ki enhanced fist collided with the beam and began penetrating through the blast. "What?!" Beat cried out in shock as Gohan got closer, and the beam in his hands eventually dissipated as Gohan stopped right in front of him.
"Take this!" Gohan cried as he reared his right fist back. "The Fist of the Mighty Oozaru!"
As Gohan swung his right super charged fist forward, Beat got a glimpse of a giant monstrous ape throwing its huge fist at him in sync with Gohan. The fist collided with Beat's cheek, probably breaking the bones within and immediately knocking him out. The two fighters started plummeting towards the mountain. Gohan grabbed Beat and tried to fly to safety, but his body refused to respond. "Darn it, out of gas!" he yelled. "Icarus!"
Right on time, the boy's flying beast flew below and caught them both just before they could hit the ground. Icarus carried the two to the top of a mountain and landed. Gohan climbed off and petted Icarus' back. "Thanks boy," he said and received a lick from the tiny dragon. He then carried Beat and placed him on the ground before climbing back on his dragon. Beat slowly stirred awake and stared at Gohan. "So, I lost, huh?" he stated more than asked.
"Yeah," Gohan replied.
"Then why not finish me?" Beat asked in confusion. "We're from different nations; we're supposed to be enemies."
"I stand by what I said earlier. I know you're a good person, and maybe sparring with you will help you see that," Gohan said.
"Or prove to be a mistake that you'll regret in the future," Beat muttered.
"I'll take my chances," Gohan replied. Icarus then flapped his wings and flew toward the Northern Air Temple, leaving Beat to recover.
At the Air temple, after their victory over the Fire Nation, everyone gathered together at the Temple balcony. Some children were still gliding around the Temple even though it was dusk.
"You know what? I'm really glad you guys all live here now," the monk told the Mechanist and Teo as he picked up a crab. "It's like the hermit crab. Maybe you weren't born here, but you found this empty shell and made it your home. And now you protect each other."
"That means a lot coming from you," Teo said.
"Aang, you were right about air power," Sokka stated to the Airbender as he pointed to the sky. "As long as we've got the skies, we'll have the Fire Nation on the run!"
Everyone started cheering aside from the Mechanist, who looked down as if something was disturbing him. Even though he was cheering with the others, Gohan couldn't help but feel troubled by his encounter with Beat. "I taught him how to fly; he could teach it to others now," he thought as he stared off into the horizon.
Deep in the forest where the war balloon landed, multiple Fire Nation Soldiers had gathered around the machine, and were trying to inflate the balloon by using their firebending to create hot air. Behind them stood the war minister and Beat, watching as the balloon expanded. "This defeat is the gateway to many victories," the Emissary said as he smiled, watching the balloon being fully refilled. Just then, a screeching noise was heard, making everyone look up. A Messenger Hawk suddenly appeared and swooped down, landing on the War minister's shoulder. He pulled out the message from its carrier and read it. His eyes grew slightly wide as he looked toward Beat.
"What's the message?" Beat asked his superior.
"It's from Admiral Zhao. He wants to recruit you for his army," the Emissary replied.
A/N: Done, and to the reader who requested me to put Beat and Note in this story, in the words of Super 17, "I've made half of your wish come true." Now it's time to move onto the North Pole Siege. Stay tuned, 'cause I assure you, you're gonna like my surprises. Plus after the siege, you'll get to see the origins of Gohan and Trunks and how they ended up in their respective Nations. Until next time, TTFN AntiHero out!