Aang was not prepared for what he saw. He could clearly remember the beautiful temple he had been raised and taught in. The bisons flying overhead, the stone fountains gently lapping. He remembered the peaceful monks who made their way across courtyards thinking deeply and the students who would run around making noise trying purposefully to distract them. He remembered games of airball and pie tossing. He remembered Saturdays dedicated to meditative thought. He remembered hours of training mixed in with philosophical lessons. He did not remember this.
Katara and Sokka followed Aang silently as he trailed behind the tour group, just staring at the empty spaces. When the tour group emptied out of a small room, Aang and his friends stayed behind. He stared at the burned rubble and ash that littered the floor. Katara put her hand on Aang's shoulder. "Aang …."
"This was my room." He turned around, looked at Katara, and walked towards the tour group.
Sokka went after Aang. "Aang, you've seen enough. Stop this. Let's go back."
"No."
"Aang …"
"No!" Aang turned around to look at Sokka, tears flooded from his eyes, his hands shook violently. "I need to know the truth. The whole truth. Leave if you want, but I have to know."
The tour guide stopped in front of two large wooden doors decorated with unconnected pipes. She explained how behind these doors was supposed to be some secret of the air nomads, but that all attempts to open the door had failed. The group stopped to take pictures and moved on.
Aang stood in front of the doors, thinking. "This door, it can only be opened by an airbender." He stepped over the dividing rope and but his hands in front of the openings of each pipe. He sent gusts of air through the pipes, each segment connected until the doors opened. The trio walked into a dark room of statues, spiraling up towards the dome. Aang began walking to the center as he looked around. He stopped in front of one of the statues. It appeared to be the last one because no one came after it. The statue of the man had long hair and wore appeared to be wearing old fashioned fire nation attire.
Katara stood next to Aang. "This is Roku. He's an avatar."
"The avatar? You said you didn't know him."
"Well, I've never met him, but …. I just kind of know."
They all turned around to see a figure's shadow walk into the room. The three his behind the statues. Sokka whispered below his breath, "That's it, we're done for." The figure made a chit-chattery noise and wiggled its ears. Sokka peeked out from behind the statue to see some kind of animal in the door way. His stomach growled excitedly. "Dinner!"
Aang was suddenly filled with hope. The tour guide had said all the flying lemurs were killed, and yet here one was, that meant there could be air nomads who escaped as well! Aang jumped from behind the statues. "No Sokka, it's going to be my pet!" The two boys raced towards the screeching lemur.
Aang called after it. "Momo!"
"Momo?"
"That's going to be his name!"
"His only name to me is meat!"
Katara ran after the two of them. "Hey stop it!"
Sokka and Aang followed the lemur as it jumped from here to there. Aang raced ahead of Sokka on his air scooter and barged into the temple's center.
Sokka found Aang a minute later crouched up by the floor. "Hey Aang, you seen where the meat went?" Aang had no response. "Hey come on, I'm only joking I was never gonna eat the lemur …." Sokka's voice trailed off as his eyes fell on the sight in front of him and Aang.
A pile of skeletons shining in the sunlight. One particular skeleton sat on top, a necklace hanging from its spiny neck. "Come on Aang let's get out of here. Come on!" He pulled on Aang's sleeve to urge him up.
Aang's head spun around to reveal bright blue glowing eyes and tattoos. Sokka jumped back. The air around them spun and twisted itself into a sphere around Aang. It lifted him above the floor and the winds pushed Sokka farther away. Katara ran to Sokka. Both were shocked to see the boy they had hit with a car now glowing like a neon sign.
"What's happening?!"
Sokka faced his sister. "He saw the skeletons and went berserk! I don't think he can even hear us!"
Katara knew Aang would be upset, she knew the truth would crush him. But ….. the glowing? She gathered all of her strength, and fighting against the angry gusts of wind, she stumbled towards her friend. "Aang! I'm sorry about the air nomads. But you're not alone! You still have a family! Sokka and I, we're you're family now!" Katara watched as the winds around Aang lowered him back onto the ground and dispersed.
Katara and Sokka approached Aang as he continued to glow blue. They took his hands. "You're not alone, Aang." The glow dimmed and he returned to normal. Aang fell towards Katara and she caught him. "I really am the last one, aren't I?" Katara hugged Aang as he cried.
On the train ride back, Sokka agreed to go to the front car so Aang could stay in the back. Katara offered a bag of peanuts to a silent Aang. She sat down next to him.
"Hey."
No response.
"Aang, why didn't you tell us you were the avatar?"
At first Aang said nothing, he looked out the window. "Because I never wanted to be. I ran away, Katara. I ran away, and they got killed."
"Aang, it's not your fault."
"Then whose? The avatar is supposed to protect people, the avatar is supposed to keep the peace. Whose to blame for the war if not me?"
"It was the fire nation. They started this war, not you."
"But I should have been there to stop it."
They arrived back home after dark. Gran Gran yelled and scolded them for making her worry, no one told her about their trip, or the lemur that was hidden in Sokka's backpack.
Aang didn't sleep well that night, he had nightmares. He dreamt of his teachers and friends running, screaming, dying. He dreamt of his home burning and he dreamt of a storm pulling him into the waves and ice freezing him in that moment.
Zuko paced around the temple lobby impatiently while his uncle watched him. "I emailed them a whole day in advance asking for an interview with the head sage, I told them exactly when I was going to be here …" He turned around and yelled straight at his uncle. "So why have we been sitting here for the last two hours?!"
Iroh looked up at his nephew. "How should I know? You need to be patient, Zuko. The Fire Sages have been very busy handling the press. Talking to moody teenagers is probably not very high on their list of priorities."
"I'm a prince!"
"A banished one."
"Only from the mainland, I'm still allowed in the colonies!"
"That doesn't change the fact that you were disowned and sent away. Now why don't you sit down and try some of the tea the secretary made us."
Zuko smacked the paper cup of tea out of Iroh's hand as he tried to offer it to Zuko. "I don't want any tea, Uncle!"
Zuko continued to pace as Iroh went to clean up the mess Zuko had made. A few moments later the secretary from earlier opened the door. "The Head Sage is waiting for you in his office."
"Finally." Zuko walked briskly out the door.
The Head Sage was an elderly man, serious and perhaps equally as cranky as Zuko. Zuko walked straight into the office and stood in front of the desk, when Iroh came in a few seconds later he bowed to the sage.
"Thank you for meeting with us, your honor. I am Iroh, and this is my nephew, Prince Zuko."
"Why were we made to wait so long?"
"Prince Zuko, show some respect to the head sage."
"Why should I after he disrespected us?"
"I apologize for my nephew's temper."
The sage only gestured towards the seats. Iroh and Zuko sat down. "I assume you have come here to ask questions about the statues."
"Yes and …"
The sage cut Zuko off. "I'm afraid I cannot answer any questions. General Zhao has given us orders to keep any and all information from both of you. My secretary will show you out."
Zuko stood up defiantly. "He can't do that!"
Iroh held back his nephew. "Sit down, Prince Zuko!"
"I am still royalty, I still have the right …"
"You are not even a valid citizen of the fire nation, you're just a colonist. Royalty is no use to you here."
"Come on, Prince Zuko. They won't give us anything so we should just leave."
Zuko glared at the head sage and spoke through clenched teeth. "I'm sorry for bothering you, your honor." Zuko pushed his uncle's hands off him and walked out of the office.
Just wait, he thought. He wasn't giving up just yet.
