Water, Fire, Earth, Air…
Long ago the four nations lived together in harmony. Then, everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all four elements, could stop them. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. 100 years passed and my brother, friend and I discovered the new avatar, an Airbender named Aang. And although his Airbending skills are great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to save anyone. But my friend and I believe, Aang can save the world. *dramatic music*
Book one: Water
Chapter three: The Southern Air Temple
I wake up and I see that Sokka is still asleep, Aang is tightening the ropes on Appas head, and Katara is doing something on Appa's saddle.
"Wait till you see it Katara." Aang says. "The Air temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world."
I slowly get up and stretch as I walk over to the small river. I put my hands in the water and wash out my face.
"Aang I know your excited, but it's been a hundred years since you been home." Katara tells him.
"That's why I'm so excited." Aang tells her.
'This kid is going to be heart broken when he sees that they are all dead.' I think as I walk over to my small sleeping bag, I see that the small fire that has been burnt out.
"It's just that a lot can change in all that time." Katara tells him with a worried look.
"I know, but I need to see it for myself." Aang says as he jumps off of Appas head and lands next to me.
We both look at Sokka and hear him snoring.
"Wake up Sokka! Air temple here we come!" Aang says as he walks toward Sokka.
"Sleep now. Temple later." Sokka says as he turns in his sleeping bag. He then begins to snore again.
I look around and I see a stick. I grab it and walk toward Aang. "Watch and learn, Avatar." I walk toward Sokka with the stick in my hand and say, "Sokka wake up! There's a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!" I then move the stick across his sleeping bag mimicking a snake.
"AAH!" Sokka yells as he stands in his sleeping bag panicking. "Get it off! Get it off!" he proceeds to jump around in his sleeping bag then falls flat on his face with a pissed off look on his face.
Katara and Aang laugh in the background.
"Now that your awake we could start going." I say, "Oh here is the Prickle snake." I then throw the stick on the ground next to him. "Come on get up." I quickly gather up my stuff and climb onto Appas back.
Sokka eventually gets up, rolls his sleeping bag up, and climbs onto Appa's saddle sitting across from me glaring at me.
"Ready everyone?" Aang says. "Okay Appa! Yip, Yip!" Appa then jumps and flies right into the sky.
"It has been almost a hundred years since I been to any of the air temples." I say.
"Really? Why haven't you gone?" Aang asks me.
"Because I knew you weren't there." I say to him. "You keep forgetting that I have been looking for you."
"Enough of that!" Sokka says as he interrupts us. "Where's the food?" he says as he searches through the bags. He then pulls out an empty bag that had some sort of food in it. "Hey! Who ate all my blubbered seal jerky?"
"Oh, that was food?" Aang says. "I used it to keep the fire going last night."
"That's what I burned?" I say while laughing.
"You what?" Sokka says. "No wonder the flames smelled so good." Sokka says in sadness.
I continue to laugh at Sokka's stupidity.
"The Potola Mountain range!" Aang says as we see mountains in a distance. "We're almost there!"
"Aang before we get to the temple, we need to talk about the Airbenders." I say to him.
"What about them?" Aang asks.
"I want you to be prepared for what you might see." I tell him. "The fire nation doesn't show mercy. They are not the same as you remember. Even I refuse to go back to live there and I am a firebender. They probably killed your people, Aang."
"Just because no one has seen an Airbender, doesn't mean the fire nation killed them all." Aang says. "They probably escaped."
"Aang I know it is hard to accept." Katara says as she jumps in.
"You don't understand Katara." Aang says, "The only way to get to an Airbender temple is on a flying bison, and I doubt the fire nation has any flying bison. Right Appa."
"Aang there are only two Airbenders left in the world. You and my brother Daichi." I tell him. "Believe what you want and hide from the truth, but what I am telling you is the truth."
Aang just ignores me and says, "Yip, Yip" Causing Appa to fly up the mountain.
We go over the mountain and we see the temple.
"There it is, The Southern Air Temple." Aang says.
"Aang, it's amazing!" Katara says.
"We're home, buddy, we're home." Aang says as he rubs Appa's head.
Aang lands Appa on the temple and he starts to run up the side of the mountain. Katara, Sokka, and I follow him.
"So where do I get something to eat?" Sokka says as he grabs his stomach.
"You're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to ever visit an Airbender temple, and all you can think about is your stomach." I say while rubbing his head and messing up his hair.
"Hey!" he says while pushing off my hand and fixing his wolf tail. "I'm just a simple guy with simple needs."
"So that's where my friends and I would play air ball." Aang says while pointing to a bunch of poles in the ground. "And over there is where the bison would sleep." He then sighs.
"What's wrong." Katara asks.
"This place use to be full of monks and lemurs and bison." Aang says as he looks around. "Now there's just a bunch of weeds." I can't believe how much things have changed."
"So, uh, this Airball game, how do you play?" Sokka asks.
"You're in for it now, Sokka." I tell him. He then gives me a worried look.
Aang gives him a big smile and leads us down to the small field. He then helps Sokka get in front of one of the goals. While Aang jumps to the other side with the ball. Aang uses his Airbending to make the flat paper in to a round ball. He then throws the ball into the air and when it gets about eye level he uses his Airbending to make it go really fast toward Sokka. The ball hits Sokka right through the goal.
"Sokka you ok?" I say as I run toward him and help him up. "To bad my brother is not here. He used to be the best at this game, I doubt it if he plays anymore."
"Ya, ya…" Sokka says as he rubs his butt. "I don't think I want to play anymore. Making him feel better is putting me in a world of hurt."
"Aang 7, Sokka 0." Aang says with happiness.
"Aang when if we find my brother you should challenge him." I yell out to him.
"Okay!" Aang says.
I noticed that Sokka noticed something behind me. I turn around and I see a Fire nation helmet on the floor.
He walks over to it and says, "Katara, Masami check this out."
We both walk over to it.
"Fire Nation." Katara says.
"We should tell him." Sokka says seriously.
"Aang, there's something you need to see." I say as I call to him.
"Okay!" Aang says cheerfully as he runs over here with the Airball.
Katara then gives a worried look and water bends some snow to cover the helmet and Sokka.
"What is it?" Aang says.
Sokka rubs the snow off of him as Katara says, "Uh… just a new Waterbending move I learned."
"Nice one, but enough practicing." Aang says. "We have a whole temple to see." He then starts walking.
"You can't protect him forever." I tell Katara.
Katara just stays quiet and follows Aang. I look at Sokka and we both follow Aang around. We eventually reach the front of the air temple where there is a nice fountain in the front.
"Katara Firebenders were here." Sokka says trying to get an answer out of her. "You can't pretend they weren't."
"I can for Aang's sake." Katara says. "If he finds out that the Fire nation invaded his home, he'll be devastated."
"Hey guys!" Aang says while standing next to a statue. "I want you to meet somebody."
"Who's that?" Sokka says.
"Aang, isn't that Monk Gyatso?" I ask.
"Yup!" Aang says.
"Who did you know that?" Sokka asks.
"He was the one who brought me here one hundred years ago to meet Aang for the first time. He introduced me to Aang." I say as I walk to the statue and do a slight bow to it showing my respect. "He also told me that Aang could be a hand full."
"He was the greatest Airbender in the world." Aang says. "He taught me everything I know."
"You must miss him." Katara tells him.
"Yeah." Aang says as he starts to walk toward the temple.
"Where are you going?" Katara says.
"The Air Temple Sanctuary." Aang says. "There's someone I'm ready to meet."
As we walk toward the room Aang asks me, "Do you know who I have to meet, Masami?"
"I don't know the exact person, but their role is to teach you spiritually. Daichi and I were in charge of the elements, but this person guides your spirit. This one holds the answers that I might not have." I say to him as we continue to walk.
We follow him through the temple and we finally reach a door that leads to the Sanctuary. The door has three blue shells on it that are connected by a bunch of tubes.
"No one could have survived in there for a hundred years." Katara says.
"It's not impossible. I survived in the iceberg for that long." Aang says cheerfully.
"Good point." Katara says.
"Katara, whoever's in there might help me figure out this Avatar thing." Aang says.
"Whoever is in there will help you with the Avatar thing." I say to him.
"And whoever's in there might have a medley of delicious cured meats." Sokka says while he starts to drool and rub his hands together. He then runs to the door and crashes into it. He then tries to open the door, but fails. "I don't suppose you have a key." Sokka says as he falls on his butt.
"The key, Sokka, is Airbending." Aang says.
Sokka gets up and walks over next to me. Aang then takes a deep breathe, does a small dramatic step forward while pushing the air into the tubes on the door. The door then opens.
"Not bad Aang." I say. As we walk into the very dark and depressing looking room.
"Hello?" Aang yells out. "Anyone home?"
As we get deeper in the room we see all these statues on the ground placed in a specific order. I look up and I see more of them.
"Statues?" Sokka complains. "That's it? Where's the meat?"
"These are not just statues, Sokka." I say to him.
"Who are all these people?" Katara asks.
"I'm not sure." Aang says. "But it feels like I know them somehow."
"That is because they are you." I say to Aang. "Look at them closer."
Aang looks up at the one he is in front of. "That one's an Airbender." He says.
"And this one's a waterbender." Katara says. "They're lined up in a pattern. Air, water, earth, and fire." She says as she points to each one.
"That's the Avatar cycle." Aang says to me.
"Yes, they are all Avatars, Aang." I say to him. "They are all your past lives."
"Wow! There's so many." He says as he looks around. He then starts to walk over to the statue of the Avatar right before him.
"Past lives?" Sokka says. "Katara, Masami, you really believe in that stuff?"
"It's true." Katara says. "When the Avatar dies, he's reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle."
"Similar with the Deveras, too." I say.
I look at Aang and I see him staring into the statue's eyes. 'So he is the spirit guide of Aang.' I think as I walk over to Aang. 'I wonder what the names of his Deveras were. I wish we had a room with our past ancestors.'
"Aang snap out of it!" Katara says as she shakes Aang a little bit.
"Huh?" Aang says as he comes back to our world.
"Who is that?" Katara says as she stares at the statue.
"That's Avatar Roku, the Avatar before me." Aang says.
"You were a Firebender?" Sokka says. "No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met."
"There's no writing. How did you know his name?" Katara asks.
"I'm not sure." Aang says. "I just know it somehow."
"That is because Avatar Roku is your spirit guide." I say to Aang.
"You guys just couldn't get any weirder." Sokka says as he crosses his arms.
We then hear something from behind us. We quickly run and hide behind two statues. I am sitting next to Sokka behind a waterbender statue, while Aang and Katara are behind an earth bender statue.
"Firebender. Nobody make a sound." Sokka whispers.
"You're making a sound." I say as I elbow him.
"That Firebender won't know what hit him." Sokka says as he takes out a weapon. He jumps out in front of the 'Firebender' but doesn't attack. Katara, Aang and I look and we see a lemur.
"Lemur!" Aang says.
"Dinner!" Sokka says as he drools a little bit.
"Don't listen to him." Aang tells the lemur. "You're gonna be my new pet."
"Not if I get him first." Sokka says as he gets up and runs toward the lemur. Aang also gets up and runs toward the lemur.
The lemur runs. Sokka then falls to the ground and Aang jumps over him by stepping on his head. Sokka quickly gets up and runs after the lemur.
"Wait! Come back!" Aang says.
"Come on before we lose them." I say to Sokka as I run after Aang and the lemur.
"I want to eat you!" I hear Sokka yell.
I can see Aang using his airbending to help him run faster. Sokka tries to trip him, but Aang jumps up and runs on the wall while laughing. He then throws a ball of air at Sokka causing him to fall. I catch up to Sokka.
"Come on Sokka! Don't let him get away." I say as I pull him up.
"You're right! I have to get my dinner!" Sokka says as he gets up and runs in the direction that Aang and the lemur went.
We see the lemur fly away and Aang looks back at us and jumps out the window while laughing. He then lands on the rocks real easy about it because he slows himself down with the Airbending.
"Hey! No fair!" Sokka yells.
"Come Sokka!" I say as I pull him out of the temple.
"Coming!" Sokka says as he follows me.
We run outside and toward a small shack that we saw Aang go through. Sokka runs through first and says, "Hey, Aang, you find my dinner yet?"
I run in right after him and I see Aang crying.
"Aang, I wasn't really gonna eat the lemur, ok?" Sokka tells him.
I look around and I see all the dead Firebenders and Gyatso's skeleton. "Sokka, he is not crying about the lemur." I say as I point to the skeletons.
"Oh, Man." Sokka says as he looks around. "Come on Aang, everything will be all right." Sokka then tries to pull Aang out of there.
"Let's get out of here." I say. I look at Aang and I see his arrow tattoos start to glow. I then grab Sokka and pull him as I say, "Sokka we have to get out, now!"
I watch as air starts to circle around him, the wind getting stronger by the minute.
"Aang, come on!" Sokka yells. "Snap out of it!"
Just then, the air around Aang throws Sokka and me out of the hut and into some rocks. All the air around Aang is extremely strong.
"What happened?" I hear Katara yell as she runs toward us.
"He found out that the Firebenders killed Gyatso." I say. "He activated his Avatar state."
"I'm gonna try and calm him down!" Katara says.
"Good luck." I tell her.
"Hurry up before he blows us off the mountain!" Sokka says as he almost loses grip of the rock.
I watch Katara as she works her way through the wind and tries to get to Aang. I look up at Aang and I see that he has the air current so strong around him that he is lifting himself into the air and there is a sphere of wind surrounding him.
"Aang, I know you're upset." Katara tells him. "And I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mom. Monk Gyatso and the other Airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Masami, Sokka and I, we're your family now." Katara says.
I look up at Aang and I see that he is slowly coming down back to the ground. The wind starts to lose it strength allowing us to stand up. We walk up to him.
"Katara, Masami and I aren't going to let anything happen to you." Sokka says.
"Promise !" I say as I put my hand on his shoulder.
Katara then grabs his hand and the blue glow leaves his eyes and tattoos. He then falls but Katara catches him, "I'm sorry." He says.
"It's ok." Katara tells him. "It wasn't your fault."
"But you were right." He says. "And if Firebenders found this temple, that means they found the other ones, too. I really am the last Airbender."
Katara then hugs him. We go back to Appa start to pack our stuff.
"Masami." Aang says.
"Hmm."
"How is Roku supposed to help me if I can't talk to him?" Aang says.
"I do not know that answer." I reply "But you both are the Avatar and I am sure you will find a way."
We hear something behind us. Aang and I turn and we see the lemur. The lemur hops over to Sokka and drops some food on the floor in front of him. Sokka quickly falls to the floor and starts eating the food.
"Looks like you made a new friend, Sokka." I tell him.
"Can't talk. Must eat." Sokka says as he stuffs more food in his mouth.
The lemur then runs and climbs onto Aang's head. "Hey, little guy." Aang says.
We walk outside and Aang walks to Appa with the lemur and says, "You, me, and Appa, we're all that's left of this place. We have to stick together." He tells them. He then turns to us and says, "Katara, Sokka, Masami, Say hello to the newest member of our family. "
"What are you going to name him?" I ask.
Sokka was about to take a bite of this piece of food but the lemur goes and grabs it and eats it himself.
"Momo." Aang says.
We all begin to laugh. We get on Appa and Aang says, "Appa Yip, Yip." And we take off. I look back and I see Aang looking at the temple with a sad look on his face.
"You now have a bigger mission on your hands." I tell him.
"And that would be?" he says.
"To make your people proud." I tell him with a smile.