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"Wait 'till you see it, Katara! The Air Temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world!" Aang said excitedly.
"Aang, I know you're excited." Katara said cautiously. She turns around to face him. "But it's been a hundred years since you've been home."
"That's why I'm so excited!" Aang said, smiling broadly.
"It's just that ... a lot can change in all that time." Katara said cautiously.
"I know, but I need to see it for myself." Aang said happily.
"Maybe. You do have a right to see. But, at the same time, things may have gone poorly for the Air Nomads in that time," Lance warned.
"Don't worry. At least some of them may have escaped," Aang optimistically said.
"Maybe. But…," Lance couldn't think of what to say.
Aang jumps off Appa, landing softly due to his airbending. He walks over to a snoring Sokka, who is lying in his sleeping bag.
"Wake up Sokka! Air Temple, here we come!" Aang said cheerfully. Sokka awakens, making groggy noises.
"Uggh! Sleep now. Temple later." Sokka said, grunting sleepily.
Sokka turns around, showing his back to Aang and falls back asleep, snoring as soon as his eyes close. Aang's big eyes blink in surprise. He looks discontent with Sokka's attitude, but he quickly smiles mischievously. Aang grabs a small, thin stick.
"Sokka! Wake up!" Aang yelled alarmed. Aang moves the stick up and down the sleeping bag, only touching Sokka with the tip of it. There's a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!"
Sokka lazily opens one eye before yelling out in horror. "Ahh!" He quickly rises and hops around, still inside the sleeping bag. "Get it off! Get it off!" After two hops, Sokka slams flat to the ground. "Ahh!"
Katara giggles as Sokka falls over. Sokka has an angry face.
"Great! You're awake! Let's go!" Aang said happily.
At a harbor there are several Fire Nation ships lined up next to each other. There is a smaller ship docked between all the others, identical mastodons. Its walkway is down and the small figures of two persons are seen leaving the ship. Zuko and Iroh, with Keith following them, reach the bottom of the walkway.
"Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail." Zuko commanded.
"You mean the Avatar?" Iroh asked, disinterested.
Zuko turns around sharply to face Iroh as he slightly backs off. "Don't mention his name on these docks!" Zuko makes some wide arm movements. "Once word gets out that he's alive, every firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way!"
"Believe it or not, I agree with Zuko. The fewer people that know about the Avatar returning the better," Keith agreed with the young prince for once.
Iroh and Zuko turn, with shocked expressions on their face, toward the camera in the direction the sound came from. "Getting in the way of what?" The source of the talking is a man with big sideburns dressed in a Fire Nation uniform. "Prince Zuko?"
The man walks over to the duo with his hands held behind his back. Zuko awaits him with his arms crossed with contempt, while Iroh just stares at him.
"Captain Zhao." Zuko said with dislike in his voice.
"It's commander now." Zhao smirks. "And" Bows slightly in Iroh's direction. "General Iroh. Great hero of our nation."
"Retired general." Iroh said while he bows back.
"The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests anytime. What brings you to my harbor?"
"Our ship is being repaired."
As Iroh gestures toward the ship, the camera moves back to show the severely damaged ship.
"That's quite a bit of damage. Was it caused by that lion of yours? It may have rampaged around your ship," Zhao guessed, which visibly angered Keith.
"No. I didn't cause damage to the ship. Remember that I have oven mitts and shackles that keep me from bending, you jerk!" Keith yelled in fury.
"Well then. What did cause the damage to your ship?" Zhao asked the young prince.
"Yes." He holds up one finger, while Iroh stares disinterested in front of him. "You wouldn't believe what happened." He glances at his uncle, and angrily commands him as he gestures at Zhao. "Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened."
Iroh's eyes open wide in surprise as he is addressed by Zuko. "Yes. I will do that." He happily holds his hand up and relates enthusiastically. "It was incredible!" To Zuko from the corner of his mouth in a confused tone. "What? Did we crash or something?"
"Yes! Right into ... an Earth Kingdom ship!" Zuko said while he looked at his uncle uncomfortably.
"Really? You must regale me with all of the thrilling details." Zhao said in disbelief. He smirks while he gets into Zuko's face. "Join me for a drink?"
"Sorry, but we have to go." Zuko says as he averts his gaze and begins to walk away.
Zhao smiles evilly at him as he starts to walk away, with Keith following after him, but after a few steps, Iroh places his hand on his shoulder to hold him back.
"Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect." Removes his hand from Zuko's shoulder as he faces Zhao while Zuko just slants his eyes. "We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."
Iroh and Zhao walk off screen. Zuko grunts in anger upon hearing Iroh's tea comment. He growls angrily and firebends a small arc out of annoyance as he turns to walk after them. Keith followed after Zuko, having a bad feeling about Zhao's offer to a drink.
Appa is flying above the clouds in the Patola Mountain range. Aang and Katara are sitting atop Appa's head and Sokka is back in the saddle. He is clutching his stomach as it growls. Sokka's face has a look of dismay all over it.
"Hey, stomach? Be quiet, all right? I'm trying to find us some food." Sokka said, annoyed.
Sokka starts to go through the luggage and gets out a bag. He looks at it for a moment while it sways in the wind. With his tongue out of his mouth full anticipation, he sticks his hand in the bag and starts to go through it. He looks surprised for a moment, but quickly and with anticipation turns the bag upside down to pour the contents into his hand. However, only a few crumbs of blubbered seal jerky fall into it.
"Hey! Who ate all of my blubbered seal jerky?!" Sokka said accusingly to the three in front of him.
"Oh. That was food?" Aang said, surprised. "I used it to start the campfire last night" Aang said happily. The hint of a smile can be heard. "Sorry."
"You what?!" Sokka questioned shocked. He looks up before slanting his eyes and groans. Longing. "No wonder the flames smelled so good."
Appa races past and ascends up to some mountains.
"The Patola Mountain range! We're almost there!" Aang yelled excitedly.
"Aang, before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders." Katara says uneasily.
"What about 'em?" Aang asks cheerfully.
"Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother, and they could have done the same to your people." Katara says sadly.
Ponders over her words for a bit. Hopefully, Aang says "Just because no one has seen an airbender, doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped!"
"Some may have. But most of them seem to have been wiped out. There's a reason that no normal person has seen them for a century," Lance added on, uncertain what to believe of Aang's optimism.
Katara places one hand on Aang's shoulder. "I know it's hard to accept."
Aang says cheerfully as Katara moves her hand back to her side, "You don't understand, Katara. The only way to get to an airbender temple is on a flying bison, and I doubt the Fire Nation has any flying bison!" Caresses Appa's head. "Right, Appa?"
Appa grunts. Appa flies past to begin a last ascent up the side of a mountain.
"Yip yip!"
Appa turns out of sight behind the flank of a mountain. Appa is seen emerging from behind that flank and turns further upward. Aang holds onto the reins tightly as Appa rapidly ascends while Katara, whose eyes are closed, and Sokka hold on tight to Appa's fur and saddle respectively. Aang looks back for a moment to his passengers. Appa flies over the rocks and into the sky again. He flies over a last ridge that is covered with trees. A large temple is revealed as Appa floats toward it.
"There it is. The Southern Air Temple."
"Aang, it's amazing!"
Aang is visibly excited as his eyes widen upon the sight of the temple.
"Wow. It really has been years since I've seen the temple," Lance was amazed to see the temple again after all this time.
Aang says to Appa, "We're home, buddy! We're home." His eyes squint a bit in happiness.
The scene switches back to the Earth Kingdom docks where several Fire Navy ships are lined up. Something that looks like a railroad stretches out along the shipyard. There are a number of tents lined up in front of the ships. One of the bigger tents is being guarded by two Fire Nation soldiers. Zhao is inside the tent, standing in front of a large map of the Avatar World that is hung up on the wall. He holds his hands behind his back.
"... And by the year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule." Zuko is sitting at a table and Iroh, standing in the corner, looking at some weapons that are placed against the wall. Zhao turns around. "The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war."
"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool!" Zuko yelled angrily.
Zhao pulls up alongside Zuko and smirks. "Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue. So, how is your search for the Avatar going?"
Iroh knocks over a weapon display behind them. The weapons come crashing down with a lot of noise. The general cowers at the noise and the damage he wrecked. Zhao turns around looking annoyed.
"Eh.. My fault, entirely."
Iroh places his hands in his sleeves and walks away backward with a faint smile on his face.
"We haven't found him yet." Zuko said aggressively.
"Did you really expect to? The Avatar died a hundred years ago." Zuko slants his eyes. "Along with the rest of the airbenders." Zhao's face contorts in an evil expression. "Unless you have found some evidence that the Avatar is alive?"
Zuko faces Zhao and responds very clearly. "No." Stares back in front of him. "Nothing."
With an expression of disbelief on his face as he rises from his chair, Zhao commands, "Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war." Leans in and faces Zuko. "If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found."
"There is nothing on the Avatar being alive, let me tell you that much," Keith answered.
"Quiet you beast! The humans are talking! So, Prince Zuko, have you found anything?" Zhao demanded.
"I haven't found," Looks up at Zhao and his tone becomes slightly more aggressive, "anything". He continues on a softer tone, slightly mockingly. "It's like you said. The Avatar probably died a long time ago." Gets up. "Come on, Uncle, we're going."
As Zuko approaches the door, the guards stop him from leaving by crossing their spears while a third soldier enters the room. The soldier that entered walked up to Zhao and revealed some interesting news.
"Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed. They confirmed Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape."
Zhao says while smiling evilly, "Now remind me," Zhao walks up to him and leans over to talk into Zuko's ear. Zuko slants his eyes. "how, exactly, was your ship damaged?"
Appa has landed at the base of snow covered stairs of the Southern Air Temple. Lance makes use of his waterbending in order to clear off the stairs in order to prevent everyone else from slipping, much to Katara's surprise. Four small figures are making their way up the mountain trail. The lead figure is running. Aang runs at the front, excitedly looking back at the two siblings. As the two emerge from behind a corner, Aang runs off.
"Wait. You're a waterbender? Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Katara asked.
"I thought it was common knowledge that the lions were benders," Lance simply answered.
"So where do I get something to eat?"
Sokka clutches his stomach with both hands. The bags under his eyes are darkened and he has a very annoyed look on his face.
"You're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to ever visit an airbender temple, and all you can think about is food?" Katara said irritated.
"Yeah. You should probably be worried about other things right now," Lance said, referring to Aang.
The two siblings and lion draw level with Aang, who is waiting for them at the next corner.
"I'm just a simple guy, with simple needs."
Aang points at something in front of him as Katara, Lance, and Sokka approach.
Excited, Aang says, "So that's where my friends and I would play airball," He refers to a stadium consisting of many tall poles. "and over there is where the bison would sleep, and …" Aang sighs.
Aang looks sad at the deserted remains of his home.
"What's wrong?" Katara sympathetically asks.
A bit saddened, Aang answers, "This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds." His eyes squint with sadness, clothes flutter in the wind, a dead tree at each side of him. In a sad tone, "I can't believe how much things have changed."
Katara and Sokka give each other a look of sympathy. They quickly approach Aang. Aang still looks sad as Katara, Lance, and Sokka pull up beside him.
"So uh, this airball game. How do you play?" Sokka said cheerfully, trying to distract Aang from his sadness.
Katara smiles at her brother and Aang's face clears up. He smiles too as he looks at Sokka from the corners of his eyes. Sokka looked concentrated while standing on a pole and guarding the goal of the airball court. Aang also stands on one of the tall poles, suspending a hollow ball in the air with airbending. He lets the ball roll over his shoulders, tosses it from side to side and lazily tosses it up in the air. He looks and smiles innocently at Sokka with his hands behind his back. Switch to Sokka who looks surprised at the upward movement of the ball before cutting back to Aang who opens one eye as the ball comes down again. The airbender jumps up and kicks the ball away with a powerful air swipe. It rapidly shoots across the poles, changing direction as it crashes into several poles, but steadily moving closer toward Sokka's goal. Switch to Sokka's point of view as the ball races quickly toward him. Sokka opens his mouth in shock. He grunts as the ball hits him right in the stomach. The force of impact sends Sokka and the ball flying backward, right through the rotating door of the goal behind him. Sokka crashed into the snow behind the goal. Aang laughs as he jumps up in joy. Aang holds a hand above his eyes to make out where Sokka landed.
Smiling broadly, he stretches out his arms above his head. "Aang, seven!" He forms a Zero with his hands and makes a circular movement with his whole body. "Sokka, zero!"
Sokka lies in the dirt. A twig is lying on his head while he looks a bit miserable. Katara stands in the background looking at her brother.
"Making him feel better is putting me in a world of hurt." Sokka said painfully. He erects himself, but before he gets up completely, his eyes widen when he sees something in front of him and he crawls to the front. It was an old Fire Nation helmet lying in the snow. It has been battered by the elements and shows signs of cracks and burns. He looks up at his sister. "Katara, check this out."
"Fire Nation."
"We should tell him."
"That's very responsible of you two. Though I don't know how Aang will take it," Lance said.
"Aang! There's something you need to see." Sokka yelled.
Aang runs to them from the airball court, still playing with the hollow ball. Cheerfully, he calls. "Okay!"
Katara's determined look to tell Aang the truth shifts to one of insecurity. She glances at the helmet and back at the approaching Aang. Suddenly she shifts her weight and brings her arms up. With one swift movement she swings her arms back, manipulating the overhanging snow to fall down, obscuring the helmet and Sokka from sight.
"What is it?" Aang asked as he happily ran up to them.
Sokka brushes the snow off his head in the background and looks at his sister.
Innocently holds her hands behind her back. "Uh ... Just a new waterbending move I learned."
"Nice one! But enough practicing," Aang was excited as he turned around and started walking away. "We have a whole temple to see!"
Sokka brushes the last of the snow from his head and shoulders. "You know, you can't protect him forever."
"Yeah. Sooner or later we will have to tell him the truth," Lance reminded Katara.
Katara sadly slants her eyes and walks after Aang.
The trio has made it to a courtyard with a fountain in the middle. The water is frozen. Sokka and Katara are standing at the entrance of the courtyard while Aang runs up ahead excitedly.
Arms crossed; stern, Sokka informs his sister, "Katara, firebenders were here. You can't pretend they weren't."
Katara walks past her brother. Sokka pulls up beside Katara as she is talking.
"I can for Aang's sake. If he finds out that the Fire Nation invaded his home, he'll be devastated."
"Maybe. But he may feel worse to find out later than to find out as soon as possible," Lance warned.
"Hey guys!" Aang yelled happily. The three look up and see Aang standing in front of a statue of a monk, turning around and pointing toward it. "I want you to meet somebody!"
"Who's that?"
Facing the statue again. "Monk Gyatso! The greatest airbender in the world." Aang turns around again toward the siblings while gesturing at the statue. "He taught me everything I know."
Aang bows to the statue of an elderly man with a mustache and a distinct round necklace sitting in lotus with his fists bumped to each other in front of him, while the camera zooms in on it. The scene changes to a flashback of Aang's past, the statue's face is replaced by the face of the real Gyatso. The scenery also become much brighter as it is a flashback of a sunny day at the Southern Air Temple.
"But the true secret, is in the gooey center."
Monk Gyatso is standing in front of an oven. With the use of a long wooden paddle, he retracts an orange, fruit pie out of the oven. With the use of his airbending, he creates a miniature tornado to spin out the fruity center of the pie.
Aang is sitting on the ledge of the balcony, resting his left hand on his knee while staring into nothing. A bison is grazing in the trees on the background.
Distant. "Hmm …" Aang mumbles.
Gyatso walk over to the ledge as well and places his newly baked cake next to three others that were already standing there.
With a calm, soothing and understanding voice, Gyatso asks, "My ancient cake-making technique isn't the only thing on your mind, is it, Aang?"
Downcasted, Aang reveals, "This whole Avatar thing, m-maybe the monks made a mistake."
"The only mistake they made was telling you before you turned sixteen, but we can't concern ourselves with what was. We must act on what is."
Gyatso extends his arm and while he does so, the camera moves back to reveal the beauty of the Southern Air Temple. The sky is filled with several sky bison with their calves who are feasting from the nearby trees. Sun beams bathe the scene in bright light.
"But Gyatso? How do I know if I'm ready for this?"
Gyatso with Aang sitting on the ledge in the background. "Your questions will be answered when you're old enough to enter the air temple sanctuary. Inside, you will meet someone who will guide you on your journey."
The camera moves slowly toward Aang whose face clears up. He uses his airbending to shift positions on the ledge, now facing his guardian and teacher.
"Who is it?" asked Aang Excited and curiously.
Gyatso with Aang in the background. "When you are ready, he will reveal himself to you." In the background, Aang, annoyed by this vague answer, grunts softly and looks up to the sky before cupping his face in his hands again. Monk Gyatso continues on a bright, happy tone. "Now, are you going to help me with these cakes," Aang smiles lovingly at Gyatso. "or not?"
They happily stand up. "All right."
Aang and Gyatso take on an airbending stance, bringing their hands back. They prepare to launch fruit filled cakes.
"One." The duo conjures a small air ball. "Two. Three!"
They shift their weight to the front, launching their air balls. The balls send the four fruit pies flying high in the air, disappearing in the clouds. There are four monks in lotus, meditating quietly between some trees. Suddenly, the cakes drop out of the sky and each of the monks is hit on the head by one of the colorful desserts. The monk at the far left of the line topples over upon impact. The moment the pies hit their heads, several flying lemurs appear and start to stuff their faces. One of the lemurs jumps up and down on the stomach of the toppled over monk while another grabs some cake right of the head of the monk on the far right. One of the lemurs jumps on the head on one of the monks. Cut back to Aang and Gyatso who are laughing loudly at the scene. Aang is clutching his stomach while Monk Gyatso is leaning on the railing of the balcony. They both move back from the railing when they are done laughing. The two monks bow at each other
Full of admiration and love, Gyatso says,"Your aim has improved greatly," Caressing Aang's head. "my young pupil."
The flashback fades back to reveal Aang in the present, bowing the same way before the statue as he had done for the real Gyatso. Aang erects himself with a sad look upon his face.
Katara understandingly places a hand on his shoulder. "You must miss him."
Downcast, Aang briefly answers, "Yeah." He walks away.
"Yeah. I would have liked to have met him," Lance said.
"Where are you going?" Katara asked curiously.
Aang is walking up some stairs that lead to a corridor behind the statue. He looks back while answering. "The air temple sanctuary. There's someone I'm ready to meet."
Aang enters the hallway. Katara looks questioningly at Sokka, who just shrugs. They both start walking after Aang. The round symbol of intertwined air currents, the national symbol of the Air Nomads is largely embedded in the floor, surrounded by two square shapes that form some sort of sun together. The trio has reached the entrance of the air temple sanctuary. The door supports a combination of metal colored pipes and three, blue, rolled up, pipes that are similar looking and arranges like the symbol for airbending. The large wooden door is framed by the branches of an old tree standing on the left of it and the hallway is illuminated by sunlight that falls through little, round windows.
"But Aang, no one could have survived in there for a hundred years."
Hopeful, Aang says "It's not impossible." Opening his arms. "I survived in the iceberg for that long."
Touching her chin with a finger. "Good point."
Aang glances hopeful at her over his shoulder. Excited. "Katara, whoever's in there might help figure out this Avatar thing!"
Sokka appears from behind Aang's back. Katara and Aang look surprised at him. Eagerly, Sokka says, "And whoever's in there might have" Katara's look changes to one of annoyance. Sokka has a determined, anticipating face. "a medley of delicious." He rubs his hands together and practically starts to drool over the thought. "cured meats!"
Full of anticipation and longing, Sokka charges at the door, but it will not budge and he simply smacks into it, head first. He quickly turns around and puts his back to it, trying to push the giant door open. When the door does not move, he sighs, slides down to the floor, disappointed, and rests against the door.
"I don't suppose you have a key?"
Aang explains, "The key, Sokka, is airbending."
Aang takes a deep breath. He spreads his arms and thrusts them forward, sending an air current into both of the tubes on the door. The wind makes one of the blue curled tube turn around. When it does, the tube changes colors to purple and the wind blows out like a horn. The process is repeated for the other two blue tubes as well. When the three blue tubes have turned and become purple, Aang has unlocked the door and it slowly starts to open. The doors sway open and Aang is seen standing there with Katara and Sokka in the background.
Aang brings his hand besides his mouth. "Hello?" Aang enters the sanctuary. "Anyone home?"
Sokka and Katara walk behind Aang.
Zuko is sitting in a chair in Zhao's tent, flanked by two Fire Nation soldiers while Zhao is pacing back and forth.
"So a twelve-year-old boy bested you and your firebenders." Zhao stops pacing. Iroh can be seen sitting in a corner with Keith. "You're more pathetic than I thought."
"I underestimated him once, but it will not happen again!" Zuko yelled angrily.
"No, it will not. Because you won't have a second chance." Zhao said aggressively.
Alarmed, Zuko yells, "Commander Zhao, I've been hunting the Avatar for two years and I -"
Zhao angrily turns around, spreading flames in an arc. "And you failed!" He walks intimidatingly up to Zuko. "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. He's mine now."
Zuko's face contorts with anger and he jumps at Zhao. Before Zuko can reach the commander, however, he is held back by the two guards.
"Keep them here."
Zhao walks away, leaving an angrily panting Zuko. Enraged, he kicks the table in front of Iroh, breaking it clean in two, sending the objects that were on it flying through the room.
Calmly with a hint of amusement in his voice, Iroh says, "More tea, please."
Aang, Katara, and Sokka are venturing further down into the sanctuary. The only light comes from the open door behind them and illuminates the scene with bluish light. They stop and Sokka holds a hand to his brow to look up ahead. The trio stand in the light that comes in through the door. Their shadows are cast over the floor. There are a large number of statues of people, lined up in a circular pattern. The trio walks through them, curiously looking around. Sokka halts before one of them.
"Statues? That's it? Where's the meat?" Sokka questioned disappointed.
Aang and Katara who also have stopped and are looking up at a statue.
"Who are all these people?" Katara asks.
Pensive, Aang uncertainly says, "I'm not sure." Frontal view of Aang. "But it feels like I know them somehow. Look!" Aang points at the statue of a man with airbending mastery tattoos in front of him. "That one's an airbender."
Katara points at the statue of a male dressed in Water Tribe clothes next to the airbender. "And this one's a waterbender." Looks to the right and back to the left. "They're lined up in a pattern:" Points at the respective statues. "air, water, earth and fire."
"That's the Avatar Cycle."
"Of course. They're Avatars. All these people are your past lives, Aang." Katara said
understandingly.
"Wow! There are so many!"
"Yup. There have been Avatars of all four Nations since as long as I can remember," Lance said, with a bit of an egotistical smile. "And we've been serving the Avatars for that long as well."
Aang starts to walk down the circular pattern. Switch to Katara, who is now standing next to Sokka who has his arms crossed.
Skeptically, Sokka asks, "Past lives?" Aang stops before a statue while Sokka and Katara are still visible in the background. "Katara, you really believe in that stuff?"
"It's true," Katara defends. Aang stares at the statue of an elderly man with a beard. In the background hundreds of statues can be seen spiraling up. "When the Avatar dies, he's reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle."
Aang is looking at the elderly man statue. Its eyes gleam for a second. Aang is still mesmerized by the statue. Katara appears behind him, grabs his shoulders and shakes him a bit.
"Aang! Snap out of it!"
Aang is smiling at it while Katara looks worried at Aang.
"Huh?" Aang said, dazed.
She curiously follows his gaze and looks at the statue as well. "Who is that?"
"That's Avatar Roku. The Avatar before me." Aang answered.
Sokka walks up to them.
"You were a firebender? No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met."
Katara looks at the base of the statue. "There's no writing. How do you know his name?"
"I'm not sure. I just know it somehow." Aang answered.
Sokka growls irritably while crossing his arms. "You just couldn't get any weirder."
The trio startles and stares with big eyes in front of them when they hear something. They turn around. A long-eared shadow of another being that is approaching moves. Katara and Aang are hiding behind a statue on the left and Sokka, who is holding his club ready, hides behind a statue to the right. The shadow is creeping closer. Katara has her teeth clutched in fright while Aang looks in front of him. Sokka holds his hand to his mouth as he addresses them.
"Firebender. Nobody make a sound." Sokka whispered.
"You're making a sound!" Katara irritably said.
"Yeah. We'd all be better off being quiet," Lance noted.
"Shhhh!" shushed Aang and Sokka while putting their fingers before their mouths.
Katara looks scared in front of her again. The shadow creeps closer. Sokka raises his club.
"That firebender won't know what hit him," whispered Sokka.
Sokka stands up. The shadow has reached the bases of the statues and it is revealed that a small figure is standing in the doorway; it chitters. Sokka appears from behind the statue, his club ready, but lowers it as soon as he sees the animal. Aang and Katara peek from behind their statue as well. Frontal view of the erect flying lemur as it sits down and lowers his ears, blinking at the appeared threesome.
"Lemur!" Aang yelled excitedly.
Sokka is drooling over the animal, "Dinner!"
The lemur pricks his ears and slightly tilts his head.
"Don't listen to him. You're going to be my new pet." Aang said reassuringly.
Aang glares angrily at Sokka before the scene switches to a close-up of his drooling face. Challenging, Sokka yells, "Not if I get him first!"
"Hey! That may be the last remaining lemur! You are not going to have him as food!" Lance called out.
Sokka stretches his hand while he excitedly lunges himself at the animal from behind the statue. Aang runs up at the lemur as well. The lemur arcs his back in fright, his ears, hair and tail standing upright as the snatching hands of the boys draw closer. It startles, quickly turns around and makes a break for it. Sokka barely misses the animal and falls down. Aang nimbly avoids tripping as well by using Sokka's head as a stepping stone. Sokka quickly gets up and runs behind Aang and the lemur as they exit the sanctuary.
"Wait! Come back!" Aang calls out.
The lemur bounces off the wall and chases out of the screen.
"I want to eat you!" Sokka yells.
Aang and Sokka come sliding around the corner and give chase. Sokka passes Aang and shoves him back. Sokka is running in the lead. Aang pulls up next to him again, so Sokka takes out his club and takes a swing at Aang's legs. Aang nimbly avoids the club and uses his airbending to run on the side of the wall, laughing loudly with amusement. Aang runs up ahead. The airbender runs on the floor again. He quickly turns around and directs an airball at Sokka, which knocks his legs from underneath him. Sokka flips in the air before smacking face first on the ground, his hood falling over his head while he lands. The lemur exits the corridor and sits on the ledge of the balcony, looking back at the approaching Aang. He pricks his ears again and takes flight with a scared look on his face. He briefly glances over to see if Sokka is still following. He too exits the hallway and without slowing down, he jumps over the ledge of the balcony, behind the lemur. The airbender turns in the air and uses some of the rocks to break his freefall, jumping from one rock to the other. Sokka has also reached the balcony, but stops there while looking over the rim.
"Hey! No fair!"
Aang is freefalling again. His mouth is wide open in a smile and his eyes are slightly squinted and watering, owing to the speed of his fall.
Back to the Fire Nation tent at the occupied Earth Kingdom harbor. Zhao is walking toward it. Inside the tent, two guards hold their spears in front of the exit. Zhao pushes the cloths aside that serve as tent doors and enters.
"My search party is ready. Once I'm out to sea," Iroh and Zuko are sitting in two chairs in front of him in the middle of the tent. "my guards will escort you back to your ship and" Zuko angrily looks down. "you'll be free to go."
"Why? Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?" Zuko asked angrily.
Cut to Zhao who starts to laugh out loud.
"You? Stop me? Impossible." Zhao said amused.
"Don't underestimate me Zhao! I will capture the Avatar before you!" Zuko said angrily and got up, enraged.
"Prince Zuko, that's enough." Iroh said sternly as he got up as well.
"You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of war ships under my command and you? You're just a banished prince. No home, no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you." Zhao said confidently.
"You're wrong! Once I deliver the Avatar to my father he will welcome me home with honor, and restore my rightful place on the throne!" Zuko said angrily.
Zhao then said, "If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation."
"That's not true."
"You have the scar to prove it."
"You know, he is right. Your father is a horrible person and you're better off finding a new purpose," Keith tried to counter.
"Don't listen to that traitorous lion. Or do. He makes a valid point about agreeing with your scar," Zhao muttered.
With a cry of frustration, Zuko jolts up out of his chair and into Zhao's face. The two stare at each other in anger.
"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Zuko yelled furiously.
"Is that a challenge?" Said Zhao slightly mokingly.
"An Agni Kai. At sunset."
"Very well." Zhao erects himself. "It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you." Turns around. "I guess your uncle will do."
Zhao walks away. Worried, Iroh warns "Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened last time you dueled a master?"
"I will never forget." Zuko replied darkly.
Somewhere inside the temple where the lemur lands on the ground. The animal erects his ears as Aang touches down on the ground behind him as well and launches forward. The lemur jumps out of the way. The lemur runs through some ripped drapes, which once formed a tent.
Anag follows the lemur. "Hey! Come back!" Aang pushes the decaying curtain of drapes out of the way. Happily looks around "Come on out little lemur! That hungry guy won't bother you anymore."
Aang walks up to another curtain of parts them. He looks in the room, but suddenly takes a sharp breath in shock. Several skeletons dressed in Fire Nation uniforms are lying scattered over the floor. There is a skeleton lying in the snow, surrounded by many more skeletons of Fire Nation soldiers.
"Firebenders? They were here?" Anag asked, shocked.
Aang enters the room and looks around with a sad expression on his face. The skeleton is adorned with a round necklace that supports the symbol of airbending. Aang stares at the skeletons. There is a skeleton dressed in yellow monk robes, of note is a wooden necklace. Aang's eyes are trembling with sadness and hold back tears.
"Gyatso." Anag said devastated.
The skeleton's fingers are clearly visible in the front as Aang drops to his knees and lets out a mournful sigh. Sokka pulls the drapes aside and looks around.
Happily, Sokka says "Hey, Aang! You find my dinner yet?" Aang is sitting on his knees, his head cupped in his hands. Sokka walks toward him. Reassuring. "Aang, I wasn't really going to eat the lemur, okay?" He approaches Aang with a smile on his face, but shakes his head and does a double take. "Oh, man." Sokka notices the skeleton of the monk, while he places a hand on Aang's shoulder. "Come on, Aang. Everything will be all right. Let's get out of here."
Suddenly, Aang's arrow tattoos begin to glow a bluish white. Aang lifts his head, his eyes glowing in the same color. Sokka retracts his hands and gasps for air in fright. Inside the sanctuary, Katara is walking down the circular pattern of statues. She stops before and looks at the statue of Avatar Roku. Katara suddenly looks surprised as a bluish, white light illuminates her face; it seems to come from the statue. Its eyes are gleaming bright. The bright light spreads to the other statues and one by one, their eyes start to gleam. The light travels from statue to statue and makes its way up to the top of the sanctuary. Katara is still staring at Roku in shock.
"Well, it looks like he took it worse than I thought he would if he entered the Avatar State," Lance guiltily muttered. Suddenly, he started to transform into a giant blue lion, roaring along with Aang's airbending, almost as if he was giving a mourning roar.
Katara was in shock upon seeing Lance transform, but was quick to realize what was going on. "Aang!" Katara yelled in worry.
Katara turns around and sprints away.
At another temple hidden somewhere in the mountains. Inside the temple is a man, dressed in the typical green of the Earth Kingdom, sitting in front of a painting of past earth Avatars. Their eyes also begin to gleam brightly. The light is so strong that it casts long shadows on his face. On one of the poles there are two Water Tribe civilians are looking at the water temple's roof that glows bright with bluish, white light, with there being a roar piercing through the otherwise peaceful day.
At the Western Air Temple, a lion is sadly roaring, much to the shock and confusion of all that are present, the same being true of the Northern Air Temple, though a lot more sleepily.
Deep in a swamp, two lions could be found roaring, even though no one is present to see this occur, though some could hear.
Somewhere hidden inside a Earth Kingdom city, another lion can be found sleepily roaring, much to the confusion of the guards present.
In another city, the lion that is a companion of a noble family's daughter is strangely roaring.
At the Fire Temple; its roof glows with a reddish light. Inside the temple there is a Fire Sage leaning out of the room from which the light emanates, with the sound of a lion roaring being present as well.
"Send word to the Fire Lord immediately! The Avatar has returned!"
The expression on the recipient Fire Sage's face turns to fright.
Back to the decaying building Aang is in at the Southern Air Temple. A whirlwind begins to form. The wind kicks away a bone. The wind kicks up and forms a sphere around Aang; his eyes and tattoos still glowing brightly. Aang's clothes flutter heavily in the wind.
"Aang! Come on! Snap out of it!" Sokka yelled alarmed.
Sokka holds up his arm to protect himself against the raging winds. Suddenly, the air sphere around Aang expands and sends Sokka flying backward.
"Aaaaahh!"
The roof of the dilapidated building explodes by the force of the hurricane and debris is catapulted high into the air. Inside the rubble of the building, Sokka spins through the air and smacks against the wall. The air sphere has expanded to a raging tornado with Aang in its center. Sokka peeks at Aang from behind a rock. Katara walks up to Sokka, holding her arm protectively before her face.
Shouting above the raging winds. Katara looks worried at her brother. "What happened?"
"He found out firebenders killed Gyatso!" Shouted Sokka.
"Oh no! It's his Avatar Spirit!" Raises her hand to protect herself against the winds and the flying debris. "He must have triggered it! I'm going to try and calm him down!" She closes an eye against the wind and starts to make her way toward Aang.
Holds on to the rock in an attempt to keep from being blown away. Alarmed, Sokka yells "Well, do it! Before he blows us off the mountain!"
Katara fights the storm to get to Aang. The sphere of wind that engulfs slowly starts to rise in the air. Katara is pushed back by the strong wind currents that fill the remains of the building as the sphere ascends higher and higher.
Earlier in the day, both Zuko and Iroh were shocked to see Keith transform into a lion out of nowhere and give a mourning roar. Eventually, he did transform back into human form, but didn't give an explanation as to why he transformed.
Later, an Agni Kai was about to take place at a Fire Nation arena at the occupied Earth Kingdom harbor at sunset. Three figures standing at the right and 5 figures standing at the left of the arena. Zhao is squatting down; He is bare-chested and barefoot and wears a cape over his shoulders. Zuko and Iroh can be seen in the background. Zuko is squatting the same way and dressed in the same attire.
"Remember your firebending basics, Prince Zuko. They are your greatest weapons." Iroh reassured his nephew.
"Come on! You can win against this jerk!" Keith cheered Zuko on.
Zuko's face is determined, "I refuse to let him win."
Zuko stands up and turns around. The cape drops from his shoulder. Zhao on the other side of the arena also rises and turns around; his garment swivels down as well.
"This will be over quickly." Zhao whispered confidently.
A Fire Nation soldier is standing on higher grounds. He sees that the duo has readied themselves for battle, so he rings a large gong. Zuko and Zhao are standing in the middle of the arena, both taking on a firebending stance. Zuko has his hands stretched out in front of him, glaring at Zhao. Zhao stands the same as Zuko. Zuko starts to lower his arms, leaving a trail of fire behind. Zuko directs a strong fire blast at Zhao. Zhao moves to the left, out of the way of the blast before moving back to the right to avoid another blast. The prince shoots two more strong blasts at Zhao. Zhao crosses his arms in front of him and takes the blasts head on. He moves one arm up and the other down, dissipating the flames. He smirks at Zuko who is seen panting heavily with his arm still stretched out from his last attack. He angrily grinds his teeth and performs a roundhouse kick, spraying flames. Zhao creates his own flames to push away Zuko's blazing attack. He performs his trick again. Zuko squints his eyes and directs another powerful flame kick in Zhao's direction. A smirking Zhao holds his own fire ready. He launches forward. Zhao swings his arms over the ground, severing Zuko's next attack. Zhao seems unfazed by Zuko's attacks while Zuko is panting heavily with fatigue. Iroh is holding his fist up while rooting for his nephew.
"Basics, Zuko! Break his root!"
Zhao ferociously attacks Zuko with a strong fire blast. Zuko is thrown back a bit by the force of the attack while he diverts the flames to both of his sides. Zhao takes a step forward. He directs another powerful blast at the prince, using his both arms this time. Zuko is thrown back again but still diverts the fire away from him. Zhao takes another step forward and fires again with the same result on Zuko's side. Zhao firmly plants his foot down; he holds both wrists together and fires another strong blast. Zuko is thrown back upon impact and slides back several meters over the ground. He lifts his head while grunting in pain. His expression turns to one of shock as he looks up and sees that Zhao has jumped up and soaring through the skies toward him. With a loud scream, he lands at Zuko's feet, erects himself and thrusts his fist forward to deliver the final blow.
Zuko's eyes open wide in fright as the fire reflects in them. At the last possible second, Zuko rolled out of the way and swirled his feet around. Zuko, while getting up in this swirl, swipes Zhao's legs from underneath him. Zuko firmly plants his feet on the ground. He smiles confidently. Zuko steps forward, sliding fire at Zhao's feet, who steps back. Zhao is caught off balance and wobbles backward. Zuko keeps repeating his move, directing his attacks at Zhao's feet in an attempt to throw him off balance. Zhao falls back in distress and subsequently to Iroh, who smiles approvingly. Zuko directs a powerful kick at his adversary. Zhao barely pushes it out of the way while staggering back ever further. Zuko kicks again and this time he succeeds in knocking the commander over. Zhao falls down and rolls over the ground, where he ends up on his back. Zuko runs up at him and threatens him with an outstretched arm, ready to deliver the final blow. Zhao brings his head up and looks at Zuko.
"Do it!" Zhao challenged.
Zuko grunts and thrusts his fist forward, emitting another fire blast. Smoke appears and Zuko erects himself. There is a blackened spot on the ground, next to Zhao's face.
"That's it? Your father raised a coward."
"Next time you get in my way, I promise, I won't hold back." Zuko said anger clearly audible in his voice.
Zuko turns his back to Zhao and starts to walk away. Zhao can be seen erecting himself behind Zuko, his back facing Zuko. He suddenly turns around and aims a powerful kick at Zuko, spreading his flames. Before Zuko notices anything, however, Iroh intervenes and grabs Zhao's foot, dissipating the fire. Iroh tosses Zhao back who slides away on his back. Zuko wants to charge Zhao in anger, but Iroh stops him.
"No, Prince Zuko. Do not taint your victory." Turns to face Zhao. Condescending. "So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat?" Zhao is lying on the floor. "Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you." Zuko looks at Iroh upon hearing those last words.
"Yeah. I may not agree with him chasing after the Avatar, but I can tell that he is a much better person than you are. 'Oh, but this comes from a mere uncivilized lion. It can't be true!' Well, it is," Keith snarked, which also caught Zuko's attention.
"By the way, thanks again for the tea. It was delicious." Iroh finishes.
Iroh, Keith, and Zuko turn and walk toward the gate of the arena. Zhao partially erects himself, with his left arm resting on his left knee, and grunts as he watches them go. Iroh, Keith, and Zuko are exiting the arena.
"Did you really mean that, Uncle? And you too, Keith?" Zuko asked softly.
"Of course. I told you ginseng tea is my favorite." Iroh said while smiling slyly while glancing at his nephew.
"You are a bit rough around the edges, but I think you can be great," Keith said, smiling as he did so.
Zuko slightly smiles as the trio walks toward their ship.
Aang is still suspended in the air in his sphere. Strong winds are rampaging through the rubble of the destroyed building. Katara and Sokka are holding on for dear life on some stones, trying not to get blown away.
Sokka is hunched over his rock, clenching his teeth together. Katara shouts calmly with a sad expression on her face. "Aang! I know you're upset and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom." his tattoos glowing and wind swirling around him; his clothes flutter in the storm. Sokka runs over to his sister. "Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka, Lance, and I!" Sokka opens his eyes and glances at his sister. "We're your family now!"
Aang has an emotionless face as he begins to descend. Sokka and Katara watch him lower himself back to the ground; the winds start to die down and the air sphere that surrounded Aang disappears. Aang touches the ground. His eyes and tattoos are still glowing bluish white. Katara and Sokka pull up next to him, one on each side.
"Katara and I aren't going to let anything happen to you. Promise." Sokka said gently.
Katara takes Aang's hand. The moment she does, the glowing fades away. His arrow and eyes also stop glowing. He slants his eyes with a saddened expression, before he collapses from exhaustion in Katara's arms.
"I'm sorry." Anag said sad and tired.
"It's okay. It wasn't your fault."
Sadly, Aang admits, "But you were right. And if the firebenders found this temple, that means they found the other ones, too." Aang has a sad face as he closes his eyes. "I really am the last airbender."
Katara hugs Aang tightly. Sokka places a hand on Aang's shoulder.
Back to the statues inside the sanctuary. Aang stands in front of Roku's statue again. Katara pulls up next to Aang.
"Everything's packed. You ready to go?" Katara asks the young Avatar.
Softly, Aang asks, "How is Roku supposed to help me if I can't talk to him?"
"Maybe you'll find a way." Katara suggests.
They glance at each other when they hear something behind them. They turn around and see the flying lemur standing on its back legs in the middle of the doorway. It jumps to the right, toward where Sokka is standing. The animal reaches his feet and drops the load he was carrying: a variety of fruits. The lemur quickly dashes away as Sokka sits down and starts to stuff his face with the fruit, taking large bites of two different pieces of fruit. Aang and Katara smile at Sokka.
"Looks like you made a new friend Sokka!"
Pushing the food in his mouth with his two hands. Looks up with an exhilarated look upon his face. With a full mouth, Sokka says, "Can't talk! Must eat!" Takes another big bite.
"Well, at least we won't have to worry about him eating the lemur anymore," Lance joked.
The flying lemur climbs onto Aang and hides behind his head, his tail curled around Aang's neck
Looking at the lemur from the corners of his eye. "Hey, little guy!"
Outside of the Southern Air Temple from a distance, Aang is standing next to Appa with Momo perched on his arm.
To the winged-lemur, Aang says, "You, me and Appa; we're all that's left of this place." Looks at the lemur. "We have to stick together. Katara, Lance, Sokka," The trio is fiddling with their luggage. They turn back to look at Aang as he calls them. Sokka is still eating a peach. "say hello to the newest member of our family."
Aang approaches the duo. "What are you going to name him?" Katara curiously asks.
Sokka is about to take another bite of the peach he is eating. Aang looks surprised when the lemur suddenly leaps off his arm and returns, holding the peach. The animal starts to nibble from it.
"Momo."
Sokka still stands there, mouth open and hand in front of his mouth, ready to take a bite, however, he has no peach anymore. The others start to laugh upon seeing Sokka's expression. Aang, is sadly staring back at the Southern Air Temple at dusk, leaning on the luggage that is tied at the back on Appa's saddle. Momo chitters quietly as they fly further away from the temple. Dark clouds slowly move in front of the temple, obscuring their view.