(Originally posted December 9, 2022 on AO3)

Aang's heart pounded in his chest with adrenaline as he peered around Roku's statue in an attempt to see the person who had entered the room. Zuko and Iroh had hidden behind the statues of Avatar Kyoshi and Avatar Kuruk (Aang still wasn't sure how he knew which names to match with which statues), panic evident on Zuko's face as Aang saw him light his fire daggers.

When he moved his gaze back to the shadow, a thought occurred to him. Could this be the person I'm supposed to meet? Or maybe it's a descendant of my people? As the shadow drew steadily closer, he suddenly realized its shape did not exactly appear human. Could it possibly be...?

Feeling more courageous, he stepped out from behind Roku's statue and towards the door, as Zuko hissed, "What are you doing? If that's a Fire Nation soldier, they won't hesitate to attack!"

As Aang approached the creature and could finally make out what it was, his suspicions were confirmed, and he was suddenly filled with glee. "Lemur!" He exclaimed, sprinting towards it. The lemur pricked its ears and arched its back, startled at the sudden noise, and turned around to unfold its wings to fly away back into the sanctuary outside.

"Wait! Come back!" Aang laughed, chasing after it, and he heard Zuko yelling after him behind. If a lemur had survived, that gave him hope that other denizens of the temple may have survived too. Maybe this lemur could lead him to them!

He chased the lemur down a long hallway that led outside, flinging himself over the balcony to follow it, eyes watering from the speed of the fall. Softening his fall with a gust of air, he spotted the lemur disappearing behind some ripped drapes into a dilapidated structure that he didn't recognize. He followed the lemur, grinning. "Hey, come back!" he repeated, pushing his way past the drapes and into the structure.

As his eyes adjusted to the dim light and he became aware of his surroundings, his breath hitched, eyes widening in horror. All around him on the ground were long-decayed corpses, all dressed in Fire Nation uniforms.

Unable to look away, his gaze gradually moved to the back of the structure to where a beam of light illuminated a single corpse that stood out against the others. It laid half-buried in snow against the back of the wall, and it was dressed in the familiar orange and yellow colors of Air Nomad monk robes.

Aang fell to his knees, tears burning in his eyes as he recognized the simple wooden necklace with the Air Nomad symbol carved into it resting on the skeleton's chest. There was no mistaking it. This was...

"Gyatso," Aang said aloud, his voice cracking.

He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in his hands as he began to sob, waves of uncontrollable grief and anger arising within him.

Zuko stopped to catch his breath at the bottom of the cliff Aang had just jumped off. He scanned the environment for the airbender, heart pounding and lungs burning from breathing in the freezing air. What if we just lost him?! He thought angrily, beginning to feel panicked. What if he took this as a chance to run away and leave us stuck up here? I knew we shouldn't have trusted him!

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a faint sound coming from inside a nearby dilapidated structure, worn drapes covering the entrance. He cautiously made his way to the entrance, carefully pushing his way past the drapes into the structure. Relief washed over him as he spotted Aang crouched on the ground. "Hey, Avatar!" He barked. "You'd better not run like that again, or you'll regret- "

Zuko stopped in his tracks as he abruptly noticed the mass of long-dead skeletal corpses surrounding them, all wearing Fire Nation uniforms that were at least 80 years old. "What...?" he felt himself say aloud, bile rising in his throat as his eyes were drawn to the lone corpse in the center of the room that was not in Fire Nation uniform. He recognized the wooden necklace as the same one from the statue of Aang's mentor.

Zuko glanced back down at Aang and realized that he was sobbing. He was suddenly overcome with a mix of extreme confusion, guilt, and horror.

Without thinking, he instinctively began to reach out towards the devastated boy. What could he say? What could he do? He didn't know. He couldn't find the words. "Hey..." he started, the fire in his voice completely extinguished.

Just as Zuko's hand was about to graze the orange material of the back of Aang's tunic, the Avatar's tattoos began to glow, the ground around them beginning to vibrate. He quickly yanked his hand away and gasped, stepping back. He remembered what had happened the last time Aang's tattoos glowed, and the feeling of panic set in once more.

The wind began whipping around the two of them, harder and harder until Zuko had the feeling that if he didn't act soon he was going to be lifted from the ground completely. Around them, the dilapidated structure collapsed from the impact of the wind, and the skeletons were blown off the cliff.

Zuko fell to the ground, gaping in terror. His heart threatened to beat out of its chest in full-blown panic as Aang began to rise off of the ground, surrounded by a sphere of air. He scanned his environment, looking for anything to hold on to, anything that would protect him from the windstorm. To his relief, he quickly spotted a large rock formation directly behind him, and scrambled to the other side of it, grasping on for dear life.

There was no way to stop this. He was going to die.

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand grip his shoulder from behind. It was Iroh. Zuko whipped his head around. "Uncle!"

"What happened, nephew?" Iroh shouted over the roar of the wind.

"He found out Fire Nation soldiers killed his mentor," Zuko yelled back, the images of the corpses flashing through his mind. "It was horrible, corpses everywhere..."

Iroh's brow furrowed and he closed his eyes solemnly. When he opened them again, he said "His Avatar Spirit has been triggered. We must attempt to calm him, it is the only way."

"How are we supposed to do that? " Zuko exclaimed.

Iroh was silent for a moment, clearly deep in thought. "I think I know a way," he said at last, pushing himself to his feet, and Zuko gaped in horror as he watched his uncle begin to approach the vengeful figure of the Avatar.

"Avatar Aang!" Iroh called, hands cupped around his mouth. The Avatar did not move. "Think about what you are doing! I know that you are hurt, and I know you are angry. You have a right to be. It is human to experience grief. But violence... Violence will not heal the wounds that are caused by it. I know this all too well."

Zuko's brow furrowed at this statement, wondering what exactly his uncle meant. He moved his gaze to Aang, whose fists now seemed to be shaking, and he felt the winds around him begin to alternate between calming and intensifying.

"Think of your mentor, Gyatso!" Iroh continued, undeterred. "Think about what he would say to you right now if you could speak with him. I am certain that he would not want you to hurt yourself, or others, for his sake."

Miraculously, at last Zuko saw the Avatar's fists begin to loosen, the glow of his tattoos fading. The winds began to calm, and he slowly descended back to the ground. Iroh made his way to the young airbender, crouching down beside him, gently placing his hand on Aang's shoulder.

Zuko breathed a sigh of relief, happy to be alive and not hurtling towards the bottom of the cliff.

"I'm sorry," he heard Aang say, sounding completely and utterly exhausted. "I... I lost control over my emotions, and I almost hurt you both."

Zuko found himself baffled at hearing this apology. Shouldn't he still be enraged after discovering what the Fire Nation had done to his mentor?

"The Fire Nation found this temple. That means they found the others too," Aang continued, voice cracking in a way that caused Zuko's heart to twinge with pity despite himself.

"Yes. I am sorry," Iroh replied, head bowed. "I should have said something sooner. I... wanted to spare you the pain, but I see now that was foolish of me."

Aang shook his head, as if to say "It's okay," and took in a deep breath as he pushed himself to his feet, Iroh helping to keep him steady.

"Then does this mean... Am I really the last airbender?" Aang asked.

Iroh sighed. "It is true that no Fire National has seen an airbender in nearly a century. All I know is that it is said that Sozin showed no mercy when he attacked the Temples nearly a hundred years ago," he replied solemnly.

Aang was silent for a long while upon hearing this. "I don't want to believe it... I can't. I can't be the only one. Some others had to have escaped. They've got to be hiding somewhere. We didn't all live at the Temples."

Zuko was feeling extremely conflicted at this point. From what little Aang had revealed about his people so far, if he was to be trusted, he found it difficult to believe that such an attack was warranted, especially on such a peaceful group of people. However, he recalled the scene of Fire Nation corpses surrounding the skeleton of Aang's mentor. How had an airbender managed to kill so many Fire Nation soldiers at once? He had no idea.

Before anyone could say another word, however, a flaming boulder abruptly burst through the layer of clouds from below the edge of the cliff next to them, smashing into one of the walls of the temple above.

Zuko met Iroh's gaze immediately, suspicion forgotten. They didn't have to exchange a word, because they both knew what this meant.

Zhao had found them.

Aang barely had time to react to witnessing the destruction of the wall of the temple that had been the monk's quarters before he felt himself being pulled along by Zuko and Iroh down the mountain path to the bison stables. Just like last time he had gone into that strange, glowing state, he felt extremely physically and mentally weak.

Gyatso was dead. That should not have been surprising. But knowing that he had died nearly a hundred years ago, surrounded by what looked to be an entire army of Fire Nation soldiers, probably thinking that Aang had abandoned him, had abandoned everyone... The thought was too much for him to bear.

He didn't even want to think about what had happened to the other monks, and his friends, who he had just seen what felt like only a few days prior. I can't be the last airbender, he repeated to himself over and over again in his mind. There have to be others... There have to be...

He could see Zuko and Iroh had made it further up the path in front of him. Struggling to keep up, he attempted to quicken his pace. Suddenly, he winced as his foot hit a snag in the path, causing him to fall forward, knees and palms scuffing the rough ground. He wasn't used to walking these temple paths, but he just didn't have the energy to airbend right now.

He covered his ears at the jarring sound of another flaming boulder crashing into the cliffside a few yards behind them, along with a distant, strange metal clanking noise. Ears ringing, he involuntarily squeezed his eyes closed and curled into himself, feeling overwhelmed. His thoughts were cloudy, and were quickly becoming disorganized with panic.

Was he going to die here, just like everyone he knew probably did nearly a hundred years ago?

"Aang!" A voice echoed in the distance. "Aang!"

Aang's eyes abruptly snapped open to see Zuko crouching in front of him, holding out his hand, a determined look blazing in his amber eyes. "Come on, Aang, you have to get up!"

Head clearing slightly, he reached up and took Zuko's outstretched hand, the Fire Nation boy lifting him back up onto his feet. He then placed Aang's arm around his shoulder and grabbed tight onto his waist as they both shuffled down the path as quickly as they could.

When they finally arrived back at the stables, Iroh was attempting to calm down Appa, who was already distressed by the attack, grunting anxiously and stamping his feet, itching to fly away. As soon as he spotted the boys, he helped Aang into the saddle and climbed up onto the beast's head.

Meanwhile, another flaming boulder smashed into the cliffside behind them. Zuko whipped back around towards the path, fire daggers at the ready, desperately trying to keep his hands from shaking. He should have known this would happen, especially after the Avatar's powerful display. It had been a beacon for Zhao.

He tensed as he heard the familiar mechanical sound of Fire Nation tanks rolling up the mountainside, his eyes vigilantly searching the smoke that had been dispersed by the fire boulder for any incoming attacks.

It was then that he saw the shadow of a person emerge from the smoke, with several others following close behind. It was Zhao.

"Why, Prince Zuko," Zhao said with a sneer as he came into full view. "What a coincidence running into you again so soon."

Zuko's face contorted in anger. "He's mine, Zhao. I found him, and I'm taking him with me."

Zhao exhaled from his nose in mild amusement, smirking. "Are you certain about that? It seems to me that he's taking you with him, considering your ship and your crew are gone. Your father would be very disappointed to learn that his banished son, who was tasked with finding and delivering the enemy to him, has now joined forces with said enemy."

Zuko felt a sudden spike of fear at hearing these words. Would Zhao truly tell his father that he had betrayed his nation, that he had betrayed him? He would never be able to regain his honor, to return home. "You don't know what you're talking about!" he retorted. "I'm taking him, and you're not going to get in my way."

Zhao continued to appear slightly amused. "As you can see, dear Prince, you are clearly outnumbered."

"Zuko! Let's go!" he heard Iroh yell from behind him. His fists tightened, the desire to fight burning in his veins as Zhao continued to infuriate him with his cocky smile.

I am the Prince of the Fire Nation. Powerful firebending runs in my family. Resilience flows through my veins, Zuko thought. I could beat him, I know I could, just need to figure out-

"Zuko!" Iroh's shouts broke through again, interrupting his thoughts. "You will die if we do not leave now! You must know when to retreat so you can live to fight another day!"

These words cut through his anger just enough to clear his head, and his entire body tensed up. Reluctantly, he extinguished his flame daggers and spun around to run towards the bison, climbing up onto the saddle with Aang.

He looked over at his uncle, who had taken a seat on the beast's head where Aang usually sat. He was shocked to see a hardened, livid expression on his usually lighthearted and gentle uncle's face as he glowered down at Zhao and his soldiers. This was the terrifying visage of the Dragon of the West.

"Zhao. If you attack us, I will be forced to retaliate. And I will not hold back," Iroh warned.

For just a shadow of a moment, Zuko was certain he caught a flicker of fear in Zhao's eyes, but it was quickly hidden under his usual smug expression, and he moved into an attack stance, the soldiers following in suit as two tanks rolled up beside them. "So be it. As I told the Prince, you are outnumbered anyway. Soldiers, stand ready. On my signal- AGH!"

Zhao suddenly lurched forward, something having evidently hit him in the back of the head. Infuriated, he spun around. "Which one of you did that?!" he demanded. The soldiers glanced at one another in confusion.

Suddenly, a chattering creature darted out of the smoke from behind them and latched itself onto Zhao's head, pulling furiously at his hair. It was the lemur that Aang had been chasing earlier!

Zuko sat dumbfounded at the absurdity of the situation as he watched the oh-so-mighty commander flail around in an attempt to get the creature off. He couldn't use his firebending at the risk of burning himself, and neither could any of his soldiers. Meanwhile, Aang had burst into a fit of laughter next to him.

Iroh quickly saw this as an opportunity for the trio to escape unscathed while Zhao was distracted and whipped Appa's reigns. "Yip yip!"

As the beast began to ascend, the lemur abandoned Zhao and flew up to the saddle, landing gracefully on Aang's shoulder, striped tail curling around the back of his neck.

"What are you all doing just standing there! Shoot them down!" Zhao shrieked from below, but they had made it far enough away that the fire blasts were simple to evade, and flew off into the twilight.

Zuko did not take his eyes off Zhao until they were physically too far away for him to even make out the form of his tanks. When he was absolutely sure that they were finally out of Zhao's reach, Zuko sighed and flopped onto his back in the saddle, allowing the feeling of the brisk air to calm him.

Beside him, it seemed that Aang's energy was returning somewhat. He was sitting up normally now, scratching behind the long ears of the lemur, who was purring. "Thanks little guy. You saved us back there."

Suddenly, the lemur jumped down onto Zuko's stomach, causing him to grunt in surprise, and promptly began rummaging through their supply bags.

"Hey!" Zuko exclaimed in irritation, sitting up to pull the lemur away, though it had managed to get its hands on a single peach.

Aang laughed again, a bright sound that Zuko didn't want to admit sounded pleasant to his ears. "I think I'll call you... Momo."

After having given Iroh a brief course on how to steer Appa, Aang had finally allowed himself to relax for the first time in several days, resting against the back side of the saddle. The sun had just set, coloring the sky a deep gradient of purple and orange. Zuko was laying on his side on the other side of the saddle across from him, his back towards Aang.

Momo was curled up next to Aang, and he smiled as he smoothed his hand over his soft fur. "You, me, and Appa," he said softly. "I guess we're all that's left of that place..."

He sighed, the events that had occurred that day flashing rapidly through his mind. The feeling of immense grief was still buried deep within him, but he now knew he had to keep his emotions under control if he wanted to prevent anyone from getting hurt in the future. And, despite what he had learned, he did not want to give up hope that some of his people were still out there, somewhere in the world. He couldn't be the last airbender.

This was what drove him to fly to their next location - the Eastern Air Temple. There had to be some remnant of his people somewhere, and he needed to search each of the temples for any clues that may have been left behind. The Eastern Temple was the closest, and they would not need to fly over Fire Nation territory to reach it.

Zuko and Iroh hadn't protested. In fact, Iroh had been completely supportive. Just a few days ago, the old man had been complicit in his capture, and yet ever since they had escaped the outpost, he had made no further attempts to assist his nephew in forcibly returning Aang to his father.

Aang didn't want to question it, as he was glad to at least have someone in this new world who seemed to be on his side, even if that person was a member of the nation who was responsible for the last century of death and destruction in the world. Maybe it was his Air Nomad upbringing, but Aang had always held the strong belief that every person, regardless of what they did in the past, has the capacity to change for the better. He was not about to give up on that belief now.

Zuko, on the other hand, had more or less returned to giving him (and now his uncle, too) the silent treatment. Perhaps he still wanted to attempt bring Aang to his father to regain his honor. That seemed likely, considering his earlier words to Zhao. Despite this, however, Aang knew there was goodness in the young firebender's heart. He had caught genuine glimpses of it! He didn't want to give up hope that Zuko would choose the right thing to do.

He glanced over at the form of the Fire Prince, unsure if he was asleep or not. "Hey, hotman," Aang said quietly. "Thanks for helping me back there today, when I fell. I knew you had some good in you."

Zuko remained silent.

Yep, he's asleep, Aang thought with a yawn as he moved to lay down on his back. That, or he's just ignoring me. Probably the latter.

Right as he was about to close his eyes, he finally heard a soft reply from Zuko.

"You're welcome."

Aang smiled, and finally allowed himself to drift into the warm embrace of sleep.