This chapter is rather dark, so I just thought I'd warn you in advance. It's also going to be a two-parter. So I hope this makes up for yet another inexcusably prolonged absence.

I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.


While the Western Air Temple wasn't exactly Katara's first choice for a vacation spot, the rest of Team Avatar had enthusiastically agreed with Aang's suggestion, so she felt it unfair to single-handedly veto the decision. So, here she found herself, perched upon the edge of the fountain in the main courtyard (rebuilt by Toph and Aang, as Combustion Man had severely damaged it the last time they had visited). The rest of the group was off familiarizing themselves with the vast hallways and caverns of the strange temple, leaving Katara alone to sit quietly with Appa in the courtyard.

The Water Tribe girl was not interested in exploring with everyone else, as she was a bit afraid of what she'd find if she did. Helmets? Armor? Weapons? Bodies? Nobody had come across any evidence of the Fire Nation's genocide the last time they were here, which was the biggest reason Katara had been so uncomfortable with revisiting. With no battle to prepare for, there was more time for exploring, and there were bound to be some places better left unexplored.

The thought hadn't crossed anyone else's mind but hers, however, and she wasn't about to bring it to Aang's attention. "Hey, sweetie, just a heads up—you're probably going to find some skeletons of your dead people on your vacation!" Though, the more she thought about it, she began to wonder if maybe she should have warned the boy, lest he accidentally come across something he shouldn't.

"KATARA!"

The girl jumped at the loud scream of her name, snapping out of her thoughts. That was Aang's voice.

"KATARA, COME QUICK!"

Mind racing, Katara started to run toward the sound of Aang's yelling. Oh, no. No, no, no, no, please don't tell me he found them. I knew I should have said something! "Aang? I'm coming, I'm coming! Where are you?" she called.

"The Hall of Statues!" His voice was getting louder; she must have been close. "Hurry, I need you!"

She dashed through what appeared to have been a mess hall and a kitchen before coming to a hallway splitting in two directions. The right branch was dimly illuminated by candles (Aang must have lit them so he could find his way back), so Katara followed them until she came across a large set of wooden double doors with a chain and padlock. This must have been the Hall of Statues.

Sure enough, Aang was standing a few feet to the right of the doors, panting heavily. "Katara, I need your help," he said between breaths.

He's okay, thank goodness. Heartbeat slowing to normal, she replied, "With what?"

"I can't open these doors by myself," he answered.

She blinked. "That's it? Spirits, don't scream like that. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"Sorry," he said, smiling sheepishly and shrugging his shoulders. "I figured it was faster than going all the way back to get you."

The pair assumed Waterbending positions and passed a stream of water back and forth across the chains to weaken them, much like when they destroyed the Fire Nation drill back during the war. "Why would the Hall of Statues be locked?" Katara asked. "What could the Air Nomads be trying to hide?"

"I don't think they were trying to really hide anything," Aang responded. "I think they were just trying to keep the statues safe from the Fire Nation."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that hiding them?" she questioned.

Aang shook his head. "No. If the Fire Nation wanted to destroy them so badly, they would have anyway. I think the nuns wanted to make sure they weren't accidentally scorched in battle."

Now both of Katara's eyebrows rose. Aang never talked about the Fire Nation's attacks on the Air Temples in much detail. It was an understandably difficult subject for him, so to hear him talk about it now with so little emotion (from what she could detect) surprised her. "I...guess that makes sense," she said, dropping her stance. If the Fire Nation wasn't after the statues, why would the nuns lock them away?

A wave of terror washed over her. Maybe it wasn't the nuns who locked these doors. "Aang, I don't think we—"

Clink! The chains suddenly fell away, Aang having successfully cut through them. "We did it!" he cheered, pulling the doors open faster than Katara could muster any sort of protest.

The Hall of Statues was pitch black. A chilling breeze blew through the open doorway, sending shivers down Katara's spine.

"I think I've got another candle in here somewhere..." Aang mused, digging in a little pouch he'd brought with him.

Katara grew nervous. She did not want to see what she feared may be in there, and she definitely didn't want Aang to, either. "Aang, maybe we should—"

"Aha!" He must have found the candle.

Sure enough, in a matter of seconds the duo had a light source, and Aang took a few steps inside the Hall of Statues. Katara again opened her mouth in protest, but no sound came out. There was no turning back now, and she knew it.

The duo entered the hall, and to Katara's amazement, a spiral of statues three times as wide and twice as tall as that of the Southern Air Temple's stared back at them from every direction.

"Whoa, Katara...this place is completely untouched," Aang breathed, half in awe, half in relief.

Katara nodded silently. She felt some relief herself, but there was something screaming at her in the back of her mind not to trust what she saw.

Similarly to the Southern Air Temple, the statues were of all the previous Avatars, starting with Avatar Roku in the center, but they were all larger and farther spaced apart. Aang was right; there was no evidence of the Fire Nation ever coming anywhere near this room. All the statues appeared to be in pristine condition, perfectly preserved from all the chaos that went on outside those large wooden doors.

They made their way over to the statue of a female Avatar a few down from Roku's. Aang stopped and bowed his head in respect, piquing Katara's curiosity.

"Who's this?" she asked.

"This is Avatar Yangchen," Aang replied. "She was the last Air Nomad Avatar. I don't know too much about her, but I do know that she used to live here. She and I didn't completely agree with how to deal with Ozai, but she did help me in the end."

"How so?"

"She told me that sometimes, you're going to have to put your own values and morals aside to do what's best for the world. Air Nomads don't take lives, but I might have to one day if that's what things come to."

Katara nodded. "She sounds wise."

"Yeah."

After a brief period of silence, Aang and Katara moved on, Katara still on her guard. The temple seemed a bit too perfectly preserved, and the Hall of Statues seemed like the perfect room for a mass grave. There had to be bodies, but where?

"Aang, I think we should head back. This place is starting to creep me out a little," she said anxiously.

He turned to her. "Why, what's the matter?" he asked, concerned. "It's just some old statues."

"I know, but—" Should I tell him? Should I make him aware that there may be corpses of people he used to know lying around here somewhere? Opting not to upset him, she lied. "I think it's the silence. Not to mention there might be some possum-rats running around."

Quirking an eyebrow, Aang agreed, though he seemed unconvinced. "Yeah, okay. We can go back if you want." He continued walking.

"Aang, where are you going? The door's back that way," Katara called after him, pointing behind her.

"There's a door that leads outside over this way," he replied. "We can take a shortcut through the cemetery."

Cemetery? What is with Aang and strange places today? '"Aang, wait a minute. I don't think we should be going to a cemetery. I'm creeped out enough as it is."

"It's not like we're staying there," he said. "We're just cutting through to make it back to camp. Besides, no one's been buried there in a hundred years. I don't think we're in any danger of waking the dead."

"I know, but..." Clearly this boy is in denial. Doesn't he know what happened here? Of all the places to dump a bunch of bodies, of course the Fire Nation would have used the cemetery!

"Are you okay, Katara?"

Aang's question snapped Katara out of her thoughts, and suddenly Aang was right in front of her with his hands on her shoulders, a look of concern on his face.

"Aang, I really don't think going through the cemetery is a good idea. I mean, It'll be dark soon, and—"

"Right. So...shouldn't we get back to camp fast so Sokka doesn't start cooking?" Aang reasoned.

Oh, no. He has a point. "Well, maybe if we get through quickly..." ...Maybe you won't see all the skeletons.

"If you're really that afraid, I guess we can go the long way," Aang said. He wasn't making fun of her or anything; he was genuinely concerned. "But Sokka's an even worse cook than I am."

"Not funny." Katara was not in the mood for jokes. "But you have a point...I am getting a little hungry."

"So we'll take the shortcut, then?" he asked.

With a deep breath, she conceded. "All right."

Passing a few more statues, the pair came across a small wooden door, just as Aang had promised. "This leads straight out to the cemetery. We cut through, then it's past the bison stables and up the stairs to the courtyard."

"Okay, then." Gulping, Katara opened the door and immediately shut her eyes, not wanting to see what had caused Aang's shocked gasp.


That concludes Part I. Keep your eyes peeled for Part II sometime over the weekend (I hope)!