Chapter Three

Ghosts of the Past

" The past is a very determined ghost, haunting at every chance it gets. "

- Laura Miller

"Aang, get Appa ready, won't you?" Alya called out to her brother as she fastened the straps of her sleeping bag, tucking her belongings into the roll.

"Yup! On it!" Aang replied, hopping up to fasten Appa's reins. He glanced back at Katara, who was in the saddle, messing around with their supplies. "Wait till you see Katara!" He exclaimed cheerfully. "The Air Temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world."

Alya furrowed her brows in apprehension at that. She knew that Katara had told Aang about the war—but it wasn't enough for him to understand the fate of the Air Nomads. Alya had been devastated to learn what had happened to her people after she'd run away. She could only hope that some of the Air Nomads had survived the attacks and were hiding in the Temple. There was a very slim chance that anyone could've survived, but Alya held on to it.

"Aang, I know you're excited, but it's been a hundred years since you've been home," Katara said gently, an apprehensive expression on her face as she looked at him.

"That's why I'm so excited!" Aang replied, looking away from his job to give Katara a bright smile.

"What Katara means is that the war has affected the Air Nomads too, Aang. And I don't think we'll like the consequences," Alya said, sighing as the now-familiar guilt plagued her heart. She looked away from Katara's sympathetic expression and Aang's slightly confused face to face the sunrise.

"Alya's right, Aang, a lot has changed in the past hundred years," Katara said.

"I know," Aang replied, jumping down from Appa's head. "But I need to see it for myself."

Alya just sighed at her brother's unwillingness to believe her and Katara. She wondered if she should tell her brother the whole truth, but she couldn't imagine facing his devastated expression. Unlike Alya, who wasn't very attached to the Airbenders as a whole, Aang was the model Airbender, having mastered Airbending two years earlier than usual and he fit seamlessly into the dynamic of their people. That made Aang much more attached to the concept of the Air Nomads. If Alya had been extremely saddened by the extinction of their race, Aang would be devastated beyond belief. Alya would like to protect her little brother from that a little while longer at least. Besides, she was still clinging to the hope that some of the Airbenders had survived.

Alya watched Aang laugh merrily as Sokka jumped around, terrified by the younger airbender's prank. His grey eyes were lit up with mirth and mischief and a small smile touched her face at the sight.

No, I can't tell him. Not now.

Idly, her thoughts wandered back to Gyatso. She could still remember his kind smile and warmth as he encased her in one of his comforting hugs after the meeting with the monks. Gyatso had been the only parent she'd ever known—fulfilling the roles of both mother and father to her. She'd felt terrible running away from her responsibilities, going against everything Gyatso had told her. She prayed to the spirits that he'd somehow escaped the Fire Nation's attacks and lived peacefully for the rest of his life.

A sudden ache overtook her and she longed to be back at the beautiful Air Temple that she'd once called home. She longed to spend her days idyllically, in meditation, training, and frivolity like she had done all those years ago.

She got up from her spot beside the lake's shore and said, "C'mon then, let's go. Sokka quit being a human caterpillar and get on Appa," she ordered him, her lips quirked in a small smile. "I'll drive today. We're going home," she whispered the last part, nostalgia touching her words.

Alya's hair whipped in the wind as she guided Appa towards their destination, her lips curved into a smirk as she and Aang played a little game of trying to knock each other off the bison with gusts of wind.

Alya laughed as she sent a particularly strong blast of air towards Aang and he fell over Appa's saddle, flailing and screaming as he fell. "Aang!" Katara yelled, looking disbelievingly at Alya as she giggled uncontrollably, clutching her sides. However, the waterbender's expression morphed into one of relief as Aang regained control and flew back to the saddle, his hands twirling gracefully as he bended the air.

"I win, little brother," Alya said, grinning. "You owe me a fruitcake, now." It was an old game they played, ever since Aang was old enough to bend. Both of them knew that they couldn't get hurt when they fell and it was just a bit of fun, even though Gyatso was slightly disapproving of their frivolity.

"Oh, alright," Aang grouched, a pout on his face. "I'll get you one once we're at the temple."

Alya's grin immediately fell at Aang's statement. She opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by Sokka, who had been rummaging through their supplies.

"Speaking of fruitcakes made me hungry," he whined. His stomach growled audibly. "Hey, stomach, be quiet, alright? I'm trying to find some food." He poked about the bags some more before asking indignantly, "Hey, who ate all my blubbered seal jerky?"

Alya's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh, that was food? I used it as kindling for the campfire yesterday night. Sorry, Grumps," she replied, her lips pulled into a small smirk.

"You what?!" Sokka demanded, throwing his head back. "Aw, no wonder the flames smelled so good last night. And don't call me Grumps." He huffed angrily, looking out at the landscape as Appa flew below the clouds.

"You're right, Boomerang Boy suits you much better," Alya agreed amicably, grinning as Katara and Aang burst out into laughter.

Alya pulled at Appa's reins sharply, causing him to swoop down and towards the east sharply, revealing the majestic mountain range that surrounded them—a clear indication to how near they were to the Air Temple. Aang's face lit up. "Look, Alya, it's the Batola mountain range! We're almost there!" He exclaimed excitedly. His sister just smiled at him indulgently, but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Aang? We need to talk about… about what happened after we left." Alya said, twisting in her position so that she was facing the others fully.

"What about it?" Aang asked, pulling his eyes away from the misty peaks of the mountains.

"Aang… the Fire Nation is ruthless. We just want you to be prepared for what you might see. Everyone says that the Air Nomads were completely wiped out by the Fire Nation. They kill everyone who stands in their way," Katara said before her face darkened and she turned away. "They killed my mother, you know. They might've done the same to your people."

Aang looked from Katara to Alya, hoping to find some comfort in his sister's face, but she was grim and looking as if she carried the guilt of the world. Aang's face was pensive for a moment before it morphed into a hopeful expression. "Just because no one's seen an airbender for a hundred years doesn't mean they're all gone. They probably escaped—there's a lot of secret chambers and passages in the Air Temple, y'know."

Alya shook her head. "I only hope you are right, Aang."

Katara sighed. "I know how hard it must be for you both to accept this, but…"

"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. Right, Appa?" Aang rubbed Appa's soft fur on his torso and the bison growled, seemingly in affirmative.

"Oh, there's the Lhotse peak," Alya exclaimed. "First-time fliers, hold on tight!" Alya braced herself as she tugged on Appa's reins, causing him to change direction to fly directly upwards. Alya's eyes watered due to the sheer velocity of the wind that hit her face. The air was almost painfully cold, but Alya knew it wouldn't be too bad once they were at the top of the peak.

Finally, she spotted the familiar blue-grey spires of the temple and brought Appa to a halt, revelling in the contrast of the cool air caressing her skin against the crisp warmth of the sun.

She turned back to face Katara and Sokka, a grin on her face. "Welcome to the Southern Air Temple," she said, offering the usual Air Nomad greeting of her right fist against her left palm.

"It's amazing!" Katara exclaimed in awe, her blue eyes wide as she took in the vista before her.

"We're home, Aang. We're home," Alya whispered as her brother crawled forward to sit beside her, his thin arm wound around her shoulders.

"Race you to the airball field, sis!" Aang yelled as he zoomed forward on an air scooter. Alya's slight frown lifted as she grinned and made a scooter of her own.

"Hey, no fair, you got a head start!" She shouted back, ignoring Katara's slightly consternated look and Sokka's grumbles.

She slowed down as she spotted her brother looking over a ledge, smiling as she spotted the achingly familiar sights. Although there was a great difference between then and now. A hundred years ago, the Temple was teeming with life. And now… now, it was just an abandoned relic.

She felt the tiny thread of hope she was holding on to snap, an overwhelming tide of emotions threatening to break and shatter her to pieces. She'd been so blase about the matter of the war till now… and now, looking at the bleak reality of the changes wrought in the temple she understood just how bad the war had gotten during her absence.

"So that's where Alya and I would play airball!" Aang explained to the Water Tribe siblings, his excited voice snapping Alya out of her reverie. He pointed to the right, next, gesturing to the bison's meadow—once lush with grass and herbs, but now it was just a pile of snow and weeds. "And that's where the bison would sleep… and—" Aang cut himself off, a despondent expression replacing his excitement.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked, her blue eyes shining with concern.

"This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. And now…"

"Now, all there's left is just a bunch of weeds and dead people," Alya interrupted coldly. Aang looked shocked and stricken while Katara just looked sympathetic. Sokka, surprisingly, was the one who looked worried. Perhaps he's concerned for my sanity, Alya mused. I wouldn't blame him.

Alya turned abruptly, ignoring the others as she made her way up the winding paths carved into the mountain.

She needed some time alone.

Somehow, she found herself near an old, mildewed statue of Gyatso. She was rather surprised to find his statue, of all the monks, gracing the entrance of the temple. It wasn't there when she had run away. The airbenders must've put the statue up during the short period between her disappearance and the Fire Nation's attack on the temple.

She could remember her old master's voice echoing in the training chamber as she recalled one of the most powerful memories she had of him.

Alya panted, sweat dripping down her forehead and her hair sticking to her skin. She was standing with her staff in hand, her stance imitating the one of her teacher's perfectly. Suddenly, she whirled and a gust of air whipped outwards from her staff, towards the row of candles surrounding her. They were all extinguished within seconds.

"Good, very good," Gyatso intoned, a proud smile on his face. He'd relaxed from the starting stance—the one Alya had to correct to get this particular form right. His arms were buried within the deep sleeves of his shirt, an approving expression on his wizened face. "See? The smallest mistake can throw you off course, young pupil. You must learn to achieve perfection in whatever you do." He walked towards his young ward, placing a hand on her shoulder as he spoke further. "However, you must never lose yourself in your quest for perfection. That would be the most miserable thing indeed."

"You should write a book, Gyatso," Alya said, chuckling a little. "About wisdom and inspiration."

"Perhaps I will, Alya," he said, a twinkle in his eye.

They laughed together for a little while, before Alya's expression became somber, as she stared at the younger kids having their lessons outdoors, on the sky bison.

"Aang had a dream yesterday."

Gyatso looked at her quizzically, trying to decipher her tone. "About what?"

"He dreamed about our parents… He saw them abandon us here and walk away, while all he could do was struggle and cry." She closed her eyes, remember the manic look in her brother's eyes as he'd come to her room for comfort early in the morning. "He came to me in tears in the morning, Gyatso… I've never seen him so upset before."

"I see." Gyatso sighed. "I wish I could tell you about your parents, Alya. I wish I could tell you their history and justify their actions, but I'm afraid it's not my place to do so. The council decided they would reveal all the secrets they've kept about you in the spring of your sixteenth year."

"All the secrets they've kept about me?" Alya asked, her eyebrows raised incredulously.

"I've always told you that you were special, young one." Gyatso smiled fondly. "And in time, you'll see I was right."

Alya hummed noncommittally, mulling over her mentor's words.

"Just remember, the world may hurt you, Alya, over and over again. And you will make mistakes because of it. Some of them will be inconsequential while others might be so powerful that they could change the whole world." Alya's brows knitted at this statement. Change the whole world? That seemed like something Gyatso would say to someone with enormous responsibilities, not her. "But what you have to remember is that your mistakes are your responsibilities and no one else's. And that means that it's your duty to accept your mistake, learn from it and take the right steps to amend it. You can never change your destiny, but you can always alter the course you take to reach it."

Gyatso's eyes looked thousands of years old, as he stared out at the beautiful sights of the Air Temple. Alya herself remained quiet, her teacher's words echoing in her mind. She felt as though there was something very important that he was hiding from her, but she'd let it go, for now.

"So, what do you say to a lesson in cooking next?" Gyatso questioned, much more cheerfully than before. "The boys always run away when I ask them if they're up for it. And besides, your airbending might have almost attained perfection, but your fruitcakes are still as bland as the day you first tried to make them!" He chuckled as Alya sputtered, leading them away from the training room and towards the kitchens, bantering with his young ward as he did so.

Alya opened her eyes, ignoring the tears pricking at their corners. She looked up at the stone eyes of Gyatso's statue, somehow looking as kind as the real Gyatso's eyes had been. She bowed formally to her mentor.

Thank you, for everything, Gyatso.

She felt a hand rest gently on her shoulder and turned back. Katara was looking at her with curiosity and compassion in her eyes. "Who's that?"

"That's Gyatso. He mentored my brother and I. Though… he was much more than a mentor to us. He was the only parent I'd ever known." Alya looked down, blinking her tears away. "I never had any real friends to speak of in the Temple—I was the only girl amongst all the students here. Aang used to hang out with his friends all the time, while I was left all by myself. Gyatso was always the one who kept me company, teaching me, training me… and well, just being there for me."

"You must miss him a lot," Katara commented quietly.

Alya felt the familiar sting of tears at the corners of her eyes again. "Yeah, I do."

Suddenly, another memory came to mind. Or more specifically, something the Chief Monks had told her during that fateful meeting before her escapade.

Soon, you will be allowed to enter the Air Temple Sanctuary, to receive the wisdom that all Avatars do upon their initiation to the concept. Tomorrow, actually. You must meditate and prepare yourself for it today. The Chief Monk's nasally voice invaded her brain.

Almost on instinct, her feet began to move, climbing up the old worn stairs towards the path she knew led to the Sanctuary.

"Where are you going?" Aang's voice piped up from behind her. She turned back to face him.

"The Air Temple Sanctuary. I am ready to gain the wisdom that I require," she replied, climbing up the steps with practiced ease.

As she walked down the corridor, memories invaded Alya's mind. The Pai Sho room, where she'd always play with Gyatso and Hira—one of the younger nuns who looked after the bison. The room where she'd received her initiation tattoos, and then watched Aang receive his two years younger than Alya herself. The Monks' meeting room, where she'd received the news about being the Avatar… Every other door led to some room that held some significance to her. Alya had spent her whole life at the temple, and that meant she had sixteen years' worth of memories hidden away in the depths of her mind.

She wondered whether her room was still intact. The dorms for the students were located up in the towers of the great Temple, and being the only girl, she had been given a room high up in the tower, isolated from everyone else's dorms. It had sometimes made her feel lonely, but she'd usually enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Alya and the other three came to a stop in front of a huge wooden door, guarded by a large, intricate lock consisting of two funnels jutting out from either side of it and three circular Air Nomad symbols. They were connected by a set of complicated metal pipes.

"Whatever's behind those doors are supposed to give me the knowledge that… all Avatars receive." There was a note of doubt in Alya's voice.

"Alya? Do you think someone could've hidden there from the Fire Nation?" Aang's hopeful voice piped up from the back of the group.

"Perhaps…" She said, flatly, still staring at the doors of the sanctuary.

"No one could've survived in there for a hundred years, Aang," Katara reasoned.

"Alya and I survived in the iceberg, didn't we?" Aang questioned.

"Good point."

"And whoever's in there might have a medley of delicious cured meats!" Sokka interrupted, rubbing his hands together in greedy anticipation. He ran headlong towards the door, only to slam against it with a thunk. He got up and tried to push against the wood again, straining with the effort he was putting into the action, but it was to no avail.

"I don't suppose you have a key?" Sokka asked Alya weakly.

"Well, I could let you in if you stopped acting like a lunatic and let me open the door," Alya said, rolling her eyes. Sokka moved away from the door and Alya readied herself in an airbending stance.

"You asked for a key, right? Well, the key is airbending." Alya inhaled and exhaled deeply. She raised her arms and put her right leg forward firmly, summoning two gusts of air and aiming them at the two funnels. The circular disks flipped, one by one until the mechanism worked fully and the doors were opened.

The interior of the sanctuary was dark, drafty and seemingly very large. Alya stepped in first as if in a trance, her large grey eyes surveying her surroundings. What kind of wisdom was she supposed to receive inside a dark, damp room that had been locked for more than a century? Silly girl, you shouldn't have thought that things would remain the same after so long.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Aang's voice called out into the darkness. There was no answer, except for the echo of her brother's voice.

Alya walked further into the sanctuary, where she could see the silhouettes of several humanoid figures. They were statues of people, all standing proud, staring down at her with their imperious gaze. Her eyes moved to the last statue in the spiralling order they'd been placed. It was a statue of a Firebender, or someone from the Fire Nation, at least—if the top knot and dressing style was anything to go by. His eyes were hypnotising… Alya couldn't look away from them. She felt something stir deep within her. Something primal and important. She could hear indistinct whispers surfacing in her conscious mind as if someone was trying to speak with her, but she could only hear muffled words.

"Alya, cut it out!" Katara's voice broke Alya out of her trance. "Do you know him?"

"That's Avatar Roku. He was the Avatar before me," Alya answered, her voice quiet and contemplative.

"You were a firebender?" Sokka popped up behind his sister, his eyes narrowed. "No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met."

Alya ignored Sokka as she turned back to face Avatar Roku. "The monks once told me that I'd receive wisdom that all Avatars do when I would be allowed to enter the Air Temple Sanctuary. I think I understand now. The wisdom they were talking about… I think it lies in the fact that I can contact my past lives. When I was standing in front of Roku's statue… I felt as if he was speaking to me, in spirit, if not in real life. But it's not enough if I just stare at a statue. I need a way to communicate with him." She blinked, looking at Roku's stern eyes.

"How can you do that?" Katara questioned.

Alya's eyebrows furrowed. "I have no idea."

Suddenly, all four of them heard a soft noise coming from the open doorway, and they turned. They could see someone casting a long shadow, heading towards the Sanctuary. Sokka pulled Alya behind one of the statues.

"Firebenders," he whispered, holding his gloved hand up to his mouth. "Nobody make a sound."

"You're making a sound," Katara retaliated, loudly. Alya glared at her fiercely, telling her to shut up. Aang shushed her.

Sokka lifted his spear, looking at the shadow stretching towards them. "That firebender won't know what hit him," he said, smirking a bit.

He jumped out from behind the statue, weapon raised and teeth bared. However, he lowered it only a moment later. Alya peeked out from behind the statue and a delighted smile appeared on her face.

"Lemur!" Aang yelled beside her, and Alya laughed.

"Dinner," Sokka drooled beside her.

"Don't listen to that idiot, you're going to be my new pet," Alya said, crawling forward so that she wouldn't scare the tiny animal away.

"Not if I get him first!" Sokka exclaimed, still drooling over the prospect of making the lemur a meal.

"Ha, you wish you'd catch him first." Alya let out an exultant laugh as she lunged at the animal, just as Sokka did the same.

The lemur's fur was raised, agitated and frightened by the two people leaping out at him. Alya pushed Sokka back as she ran agilely, trying to gain a head start over the Water Tribe boy. Sokka quickly recovered, yelling as he followed Alya out of the sanctuary, hot on her heels.

He tried to trip her using his weapon but Alya just shifted her feet to the wall on her left, running on it as she snickered at Sokka's dumbstruck expression. She sped up with the help of a gust of air and sent another towards Sokka, knocking him down as she continued down the hallway and into the open air, as the lemur opened his bat-like wings to fly away.

Alya, however, was not deterred, as she leapt off the railing and into the open air, letting out a chuckle as she leapt from a rocky ledge to another. She'd missed this so much—the feeling of the rapid wind against her cheeks and the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

Tears formed in her eyes, but she didn't care. She was so close…

The lemur stopped on one of the larger ledges jutting out from the mountain just below her and she landed with the grace of a cat. She tried to catch him between her hands but the lemur was too quick for her.

"Come on, lemur, I won't hurt you!" Alya called out as she walked slowly towards the cave-like structure that the lemur had disappeared into. It was covered by a decaying cloth, and Alya wondered if it had been a safe house for the airbenders to keep away from the Fire Nation soldiers.

She parted the cloth and went inside, to discover another such covering. "It's okay, the hungry guy won't bother you anymore," she promised, as she went further inside.

The slight smile on her face dropped as she surveyed the insides of the structure. There were skeletons covered with blood-red cloth and black armour. Helmets resembling skulls lay beside the grotesque remains.

"Firebenders…" Alya's voice was barely a whisper.

Her eyes moved towards the right, taking in the terrible scene before her. Right in the center of the place, half-buried in the snow was another skeleton, covered in tattered orange and yellow clothes. Alya's eyes widened further at the sight, filling with tears.

She recognised that medallion.

Gyatso chuckled indulgently as a younger Alya looked up at him pleadingly, her arms open—a gesture which clearly meant that she wanted to be picked up. She was tired of walking around the temple.

"Alright, young one, since you insist," Gyatso submitted to her demand. The seven-year-old Alya laughed delightedly as she was lifted up into the air. She settled against the old monk's chest contentedly, tired from the day's activities. Gyatso and Alya had simply wandered around the temple as her mentor had narrated various stories—legends or otherwise—about the Airbenders of the Southern Air Temple.

"What is this necklace for, Gyatso?" Alya asked, her curious grey eyes staring into Gyatso's old, wise ones.

"That marks me as a master airbender, young one," Gyatso explained, gently, "It signifies that I have earned my place as an Air Nomad."

"Oh." Alya fiddled with the big wooden disk. "Will I get one, too?"

Gyatso chuckled. "If you continue to do well in your lessons as you are doing now, and work hard, you definitely will."

Alya beamed at her old mentor. "Okay! I'm gonna wear one of these, just like you, Monk Gyatso!"

Alya fell to the ground, her hair shrouding her features as she sobbed.

Gyatso had died at the hands of the firebenders.

And it was all because of her.

She vaguely felt someone's hand on her shoulder, comforting her, trying to lead her away from the nightmarish scene, but it was of no use. Her body moved in its own volition, the Avatar Spirit taking over…

Katara and Aang stood in the Sanctuary, wandering among the statues. Aang had made to follow after Sokka and Alya, but she'd stopped him, saying that she'd rather not be left alone with the creepy statues.

They came to a stop in front of Avatar Roku's statue. "He kinda looks strict, doesn't he?" Aang commented, cocking his head to the side as he studied the statue.

"Yeah," Katara answered as she studied the Avatar's features. Suddenly, the statue's eyes began to glow an incandescent blue that she was now familiar with. It was the exact same blue she's seen when Alya had entered the Avatar State.

"Alya," Katara and Aang breathed out in unison.

They looked at each other before rushing out of the Sanctuary towards the balcony. They could see Sokka and Alya right below them, through a broken roof—the latter was surrounded by a protective sphere of air, her tattoos glowing. Sokka was cowering away from the whipping wind. Aang quickly picked Katara up in his and flew right down, cushioning their fall with a gust of air.

It was almost impossible for the two to walk towards Alya—the wind was unforgivingly strong and vicious. Finally, they made it to the broken wall that Sokka was hiding behind and bent down to shield themselves from the furious wind.

"What happened?" Katara yelled over the howling wind, her eyes trained on Alya's rising form.

"She found out that Gyatso was killed by the Firebenders!" Sokka shouted back.

"What?" Aang asked, tears forming in his eyes. "No…"

"Aang, it's okay, we're here for you now," Katara offered the younger boy a brief hug in comfort, before turning back to her brother. "Alya must've triggered her Avatar Spirit. Aang, come with me. We're gonna try and calm her down."

"Well, do it fast, before she blows us right off this mountain!" Sokka yelled, clutching desperately at the wall as he tried to stay put.

Aang wiped his tears away and nodded. He led the way, closing in on his sister, using his bending to resist against the speeding wind.

"Alya! Alya, please, 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. Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. You still have Aang! Sokka and I, we'll be family to both of you now!" Katara's appeal didn't seem to calm Alya enough, but she did turn towards the sound of her voice. "Aang, you talk to her!"

"Alya, I know you're in pain. Spirits, I can imagine how much pain you're in… but, please, calm down. Gyatso… I'm so sorry that you had to see him like that, but you must remember that he loved you and that I love you. Alya… please…" Aang pleaded, putting up a hand to shield himself against the raging maelstrom of wind.

Slowly, the wind calmed and Alya drifted down towards the ground, the glow fading slowly from her tattoos and eyes. Katara walked forward cautiously. Aang following behind her. He took one of Alya's hands in his own, and the eerie glow disappeared completely.

Sokka stood beside Katara, a soft expression on his face. "I promise that Katara and I will protect you and your brother, Alya. No matter what it takes."

Alya teetered on her feet and fell to the ground, an exhausted expression on her face. "Sorry," she whispered, weakly, her grey eyes blinking up at her brother's concerned expression.

"It's not your fault, Alya," Katara assured her as she helped her up to her feet and encased the elder girl in a warm hug.

"The Firebenders were here… and that means that they invaded the other three temples, too," she said, looking at Aang with a pained expression. "We're the last airbenders alive, Aang."

Aang nodded despondently, wrapping his arms around his sister as she pulled him into a hug. "It's okay. At least we have each other."

She smiled, placing a quick, fond kiss on the center of his forehead. "I dunno what I'd do without you, little brother."

"We should get going," Sokka chipped in, looking at the sun setting towards the west. "It's pretty late already."

"Yeah," Alya agreed. "Just… give me a few moments. I have something I need to do."

Her old room was exactly as it had been a hundred years ago. Except, everything was now covered with a thick layer of dust. Alya stepped into the room cautiously, as if she was afraid of what might happen if she rushed in.

A barrage of unpleasant memories assaulted her, the blinding flashes of lightning ghosting in front of her eyes. She fingered her jade bracelet—something she hadn't done since she'd woken up from the iceberg. The action reminded her of how soothing it was to do it.

Her wardrobe was full of moth-bitten clothes and musty smelling cobwebs. She closed it as soon as she had it open, deciding that she'd leave that alone. Her desk was surprisingly intact, the metal and wood quite old, perhaps, but the paper of the books she'd left behind was still intact, if a bit yellowed and fragile. A black notebook caught her eye, and she picked it up, running her hands over the slightly decomposed leather. It was her journal. She opened a random page, reading the words written in ink which had become faint and almost unreadable.

12 June

I lashed out at one of the boys today when he said that I couldn't play airball with him and his friends. Monk Heshang assigned me to the bison stables for three weeks as a punishment. It wasn't even like I caused any real damage to Giru—I just made him fall over with a gust of wind! Monk Gyatso says that's against the ideals of airbending—to use it for violence. He says that I must keep a level head and let go of anger.

Easy for him to say.

Anyway, I promised I'd meet Aang in the training rooms so that I'd teach him the more advanced forms of airbending that he's not allowed to do. My little brother is freakishly good at airbending. I'm a little jealous of him. I won't be surprised if he gets his initiation tattoos before he turns fourteen.

I have to go. I'll write more later.

Alya

They were the words of a more naive version of herself, younger and more carefree. How different things were, from then and now. She sighed, closing the book. There were several more entries in the same journal: almost two years' worth of Alya's words, but she wasn't up for reading them.

She was staring out of the window, lost in her thoughts when she heard the door opening.

"Alya? Are you here?"

"Hey, Aang." She smiled at her little brother.

He looked around the room. "Wow, it's pretty much the same, huh," he mused. He noticed the book in Alya's hands. "Is that your journal?"

She ran her hand gently over the yellowed paper. "Yeah. Seems like a long time has passed since I wrote it." Her lips quirked up. "Like a hundred years."

Aang chuckled quietly, moving to stand beside his sister. "You should bring them along, I think," he said.

Alya looked askance of her little brother and he shrugged. "Well, I never had the patience to keep a diary or something of that sort and I kind of regret it now. I don't have anything to help me remember this place. But you do. I bet it will bring you a lot of comfort reading them. Even the trivial stuff."

Alya kept quiet for a moment, before smiling. "You know what? I think you're right. I'll bring it. It's a little book anyway. It'll fit in my bag."

Aang gave his sister a hug before moving to the door. "I'm glad. C'mon, Katara and Sokka are waiting for us with Appa. We need to get going if we're gonna make it to the North Pole before spring."

Alya scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Like a few minutes will make any difference."

Aang laughed and exited the room. She took one last look at the dusty little place, before grabbing her journal and following Aang to the courtyard, where the Water Tribe siblings waited.

When Alya returned to the courtyard, Sokka was feasting on a pile of fruits, Aang and Katara laughing by his side. Alya quirked an eyebrow at the scene before she felt a warm weight land on her shoulder.

"Well, hello, little guy," she greeted the lemur she'd chased through the Temple just a few hours ago. "I see the lemur warmed up to you, Sokka."

"Can't talk. Must eat," Sokka garbled through mouthfuls of fruit.

Aang joined his sister, petting the lemur's head. The siblings looked at the Temple they'd once called home. "You, me, Alya and Appa. We're all that's left of this place," Aang said wistfully. "And that means we have to stick together."

"And we will, Aang," Alya vowed, hugging her brother briefly. "Katara, Sokka, what do you think we should call the newest member of our family?" She questioned as the lemur hopped from her shoulder towards Sokka, stealing a fruit from him just as he was about to bite into it.

"Hey!" Sokka yelled indignantly as the lemur returned to Aang, curling around his shoulders as he nibbled the fruit.

"I think we should name him… Momo," he said, contemplatively.

"Perfect." Alya grinned. "Lighten up, Sokka, you still have plenty of fruit left to eat!" She chuckled as the Water Tribe boy grumbled and plopped down, biting into another fruit.

Alya didn't look back at the Temple until she'd led Appa towards the North for a few miles, at least. Appa grumbled as she turned back to face the blue turrets of the Air Temple, as it was slowly being obscured by the mist surrounding the mountains.

"I know, buddy," she said to her bison. "I'll miss home, too." She gave the temple one last look as if committing it to memory before turning away.

She didn't look back again.

22.08.18

Back with another chapter on Wednesday! I hope you like this chapter since it was my personal favourite so far. It's getting a little deeper into Alya's past, but we're not quite there yet. :P It'll take a few more chapters before I delve into the topic of Alya's parents. It'll probably begin with the chapter on Omashu. At least, that's how I planned it.

This mainly focuses on Gyatso and Alya's relationship, and how Alya's life was in the Temple. Due to her being the only female student at the Temple (Thank you to stkichi for this information!) I modified her relationship with Gyatso so that she looked up to the monk a lot, and considered him a parent. I hope you enjoyed the little tidbits of Alya's past scattered in the story. The journal will definitely make a few more appearances through the story.

I think I'll come back and edit the chapter because I'm not quite happy with how it flows. But I'll probably do it a lot later, once I'm done writing all the chapters.

Thanks to stkichi and Arianna Le Fay, for their wonderful reviews, yet again!

Thanks for reading. Please, please review! I must say, I was a little disappointed when I only received two reviews for the previous chapter. I mean, over 250 visitors to the story, but only two of them reviewed? A little disappointing. I really want to hear what you think. If there's anything I have to improve upon, can do better, plot points, anything! Tell me what you think. :D

~noelle