(Originally posted February 13, 2023 on AO3)
"So, travelers. The next time you think you hear a strange, large bird talking, take a closer look. It might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man. A member of a secret group of air walkers, who laugh at gravity, and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!"
Aang chuckled as he listened to the storyteller. It had been nearly three weeks since they had left the Eastern Air Temple, and they were finally about a day's flight away from the Northern Air Temple. He wondered if these people had passed down stories about the nearby temple monks for generations. Even nearly a hundred years ago when the temples were still populated, it was rare for monks to venture down into the nearby villages due to many Air Nomad monks and nuns choosing to focus on detachment from the material world. On the rare occasion they did, villagers considered it a sign of good fortune to see an Air Nomad.
"Aren't airbender stories the greatest?" he said, nudging Zuko, who was sitting on the log next to him. The Fire Prince was sitting with his arms folded, an unimpressed expression on his face. Iroh, meanwhile, was clapping in response to the man's story and looked genuinely intrigued.
"Sounds like he was being a bit dramatic," Zuko replied. "Was that even how it was back then?"
"I laugh at gravity all the time!" Aang chuckled to himself. "Heheh, gravity."
Zuko smirked and rolled his eyes. Aang was always happy to see the Fire Prince smile, which was thankfully becoming a much more common occurrence these days.
The storyteller made his way around the campfire that Aang, Zuko, Iroh, and several other people were gathered around, shaking a cap full of coins for tips. Iroh placed several coins into the man's hat, and he smiled and nodded thankfully in return. He moved on to Zuko next. "Jingle, jingle!"
Zuko eyed the man for a moment, a skeptical expression on his face. Aang elbowed him, causing him to wince and briefly glare at the Avatar. He then fished in his outer robe pockets and pulled out a single copper piece, which he placed into the hat. The man scoffed. "Cheapskate!" he muttered.
"Hey, thanks for the story," Aang said.
The storyteller held out his hat. "Tell it to the cap, boy." As he shook it, a silver piece fell out. Momo crawled down from Aang's shoulder to retrieve it, and placed it back into the cap. The storyteller, who had not noticed that the coin had fallen out, patted Momo on the head, thinking he had donated. "Aww, much obliged, little bat thing!"
Aang chuckled and fished in his pockets for coins, dropping three into the cap. "It means a lot to hear airbender stories. It must have been nearly a hundred years ago when your great grandpa met them."
The storyteller's brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you prattling about, child? Great Grandpappy saw the air walkers last week!" He gestured to a very old man, who gave him a wide, nearly-toothless grin.
Aang's eyes widened and his heart rate spiked in his chest as he thought about the possibility of this being true. He didn't want to hope too much, but what else could the old man have seen?
He whipped around to face Zuko and Iroh, who were also had shocked expressions on their faces. "We're leaving for the Northern Air Temple. Now."
As Zuko stared at the clouds passing by below them, his thoughts were running wild. Could it truly be possible that some airbenders survived?
Deep down, Zuko wanted this to be true, for Aang's sake. Sure, according to what he had been taught, the Air Nation army had once been the enemy of the Fire Nation, but what about the innocent monks and nomads? What did they do to deserve death? If they were anything like Aang, he couldn't fathom a reason why his great grandfather would kill all of the air nomads. Surely some had survived, and had merely evaded Fire Nation detection.
There was that uncomfortable feeling deep in his stomach again. It had been awhile since he'd last felt it; the last time it had really bothered him had been at the Eastern Air Temple.
These past few weeks, he had begun to be able to push these doubtful thoughts to the back of his mind. He had even allowed himself to relax a bit, which was much easier to do now that he and his uncle had Earth Kingdom garb.
"Hey, we're almost at the Northern Air Temple," Aang said, interrupting his thoughts. "This is where they had the championships for Sky Bison polo!"
Zuko turned around and moved to the back of the saddle where his uncle was sitting with the map rolled out in front of him, clearly deep in thought. "Uncle, do you really think there are airbenders at the Northern Temple?"
Iroh blinked several times, then looked up at him. "Perhaps. Though if it is true, I find it curious that the Fire Nation has not yet learned of this."
"Hey guys, look at this!" Aang called excitedly from where he was sitting on Appa's head, interrupting their conversation. Zuko scrambled back over the edge of the saddle to see a familiar structure atop a large mountain: the Northern Air Temple.
However, something about it seemed different than the previous three temples he had seen so far, and not in an architectural sense. There appeared to be smoke or steam emanating from several of the buildings, and as they flew closer, his jaw dropped to see that there were indeed people flying around the temple using contraptions that looked very similar to Aang's glider.
"They really are airbenders!" Zuko exclaimed, looking back at his uncle, whose eyes were just as wide as his own. He then looked over at Aang, expecting him to be ecstatic. Instead, he was surprised to see a scowl on the Avatar's face, and he plopped back down to sit on Appa's head, arms folded. That was definitely uncharacteristic.
"No. They're not."
Zuko was extremely confused. How on earth were those people flying, then, if they weren't airbenders? "What do you mean, 'they're not'? They're literally flying!"
The airbender glared at the temple. "Gliding maybe, but not flying. You can tell by the way they move, they're not airbending. Those people have no spirit."
Suddenly, one of the people flew directly over them, laughing heartily. The person, a young boy, was seated in some sort of wooden chair with wheels, and he was wearing goggles. Zuko's tensed up, fists tightened, the startling incident having triggered his fight or flight response. His uncle placed a gentle hand on his arm to calm him. "I don't think these people are a threat, Prince Zuko." He turned to the Avatar. "And Aang, as for your claim that these people are unspirited— I'm not sure if that is entirely true."
The boy circled them once more, still laughing. He grinned back at Aang as he flew, clearly goading the Avatar on. Aang suddenly stood up, grinning devilishly, and flicked open his glider to fly after him.
"What is he doing?" Zuko exclaimed. As Appa closed in on the temple, the two quickly became surrounded by gliders, and he winced as his uncle crashed into him when the bison moved sharply to the side to avoid crashing into any of them.
Zuko grunted in exasperation and climbed haphazardly up onto the beast's head, grabbing hold of the reins. "Can we just— land please!" he said, having no idea how to direct the beast otherwise. Somehow, to his immense relief, Appa seemed to know what he wanted him to do and landed gently in the temple courtyard. He patted the bison's head in thanks, and Appa brayed affectionately in response.
He looked back up into the sky and spotted Aang, who was still engaged in some sort of flying competition with the boy. The two did several loop-de-loops, then spiraled downwards.
On the ground next to them, several children were cheering. "Go Teo!" One of them shouted. "Show that bald kid how it's done!"
He watched Aang jump off of his glider and onto the wall, allowing the glider to continue flying on its own as he ran along the side of the wall. He switched to his signature air scooter halfway through, then finally jumped back onto his glider. Showoff, Zuko thought, rolling his eyes.
While it was clear that the boy could not do anything close to what Aang had just done, instead, he used smoke to draw an image of the Avatar's face with an annoyed expression. Zuko snorted in amusement at the likeness.
At last, Aang landed next to where he and Iroh were standing, and the boy landed soon after, using some sort of brake function on his chair to slow himself. Some of the children removed the glider from the top of his chair, and Zuko noticed that the boy's legs were bound in gauze.
The boy rolled over to Aang, took off his goggles, and exclaimed, "Hey, you're a real airbender! That's amazing!"
Aang rubbed the back of his head, now appearing embarrassed. "Yeah, I am. Thanks."
"I can't believe it! Nobody has seen an airbender in... in like a hundred years!"
Aang stiffened slightly upon hearing this, and Zuko suddenly felt a pit of dread take root in his stomach as he realized that these people, who according to Aang were clearly not airbenders, now knew of Aang's existence. Why did he have to be such a showoff? he thought in frustration.
How much would Aang reveal to this stranger? Zuko definitely didn't want a repeat of what happened on Kyoshi. Word might spread even more quickly on the Earth Kingdom mainland.
Aang chuckled awkwardly. "Yep, I guess you can say we're... good at hiding."
The boy didn't seem to notice Aang's discomfort, and grinned widely. "You should meet my dad, he'll be so excited to talk to you! He's the one who designed these gliders. Wait until you see the other stuff he designed." He gestured for the trio to follow him and rolled his chair into the temple.
Zuko and Iroh glanced nervously at one another, and Iroh placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. "Aang, are you sure you want to stay?"
Aang nodded curtly without turning around. "I'm fine. We came to check out this temple, and I'm not leaving until we do."
Aang followed the boy into the temple, trying to keep his emotions under control. He furrowed his brow when they entered the main chamber of the temple. It had been completely altered with pipes and various machinery the likes of which he had never seen, and his breath hitched as he looked down at the wall in front of them. It had originally displayed a mural of historically significant Air Nomad monks, but now, it was barely visible due to the various pipes that were sticking out of the walls.
"Yeah, my dad is the mastermind behind this whole place," the boy said proudly. "Everything's powered by hot air." He gestured to two women entering some sort of platform contraption. One of them pulled a hanging cord, and a burst of hot air shot the platform upwards. "It even pumps hot air currents outside to give us a lift while we're gliding."
"This place is unbelievable," Aang said. It was the only way he could describe it.
"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" the boy replied.
"No. Just unbelievable." Aang walked over to the now-destroyed mural, staring at it, anger and sadness welling up inside him. He winced as he noticed that a pipe was sticking directly out of Guru Laghima's head."This is supposed to be the history of my people..."
He turned away from the mural and made his way over to a fountain carved into the shape of an air bison. His nose wrinkled in disgust as he looked down at his reflection in the dirty green water. Suddenly, black smoke began billowing out of the sky bison statue's mouth. "Ugh!" he exclaimed.
"Hey, are you okay?" the boy asked, at last having noticed that Aang was clearly uncomfortable.
Aang could contain his anger no longer. "No, I'm not okay! You've destroyed a room that was sacred!" he replied heatedly, fists clenched. "This whole temple is sacred! You can't treat it this way! I know what it's supposed to be like!"
The boy stared back at him wide-eyed, and Aang felt a pang of guilt for lashing out at him. Suddenly, a balding man with a bushy beard ran into the room, wearing a similar pair of goggles to the ones Teo had worn earlier.
"Teo, what the doodle is going on in here?" When he saw Aang, he removed his goggles, a look of shock on his face. "Your tattoos..."
"He's an airbender, dad. An actual airbender!" Teo said.
"How is that possible?" Teo's father exclaimed. "Nobody has seen an airbender in nearly a hundred years!"
"That's what I said!" Teo replied.
"What are you doing? Who said you could be here?" Aang demanded, anger still not having fully dissipated.
"Hmm, doing here..." Teo's father repeated, almost absent mindedly. "Ten years ago, my people became refugees after a terrible flood. My infant son, Teo, was badly hurt and lost his mother." He sniffed. "I needed somewhere to rebuild and I stumbled across this place. Couldn't believe it! Everywhere! Pictures of flying people! But empty, nobody home. Then, I came across these fan-like contraptions!"
"Our gliders," Aang said.
The mechanist nodded. "Yes! Little, light flying machines! They gave me an idea. Build a new life for my son, in the air! Then everyone will be on equal ground! So to speak. We're just in the process of improving upon what's already here. And, after all, isn't that what nature does?"
Aang glanced at Iroh and Zuko, the former sniffing slightly and patting his eyes with his sleeve, the latter sporting a familiar furrowed brow and distrustful eyes, arms folded.
"Nature knows where to stop," Aang answered, gesturing to the ruined mural and fountain.
"I suppose that's true." The man shook his head, making a tsk noise. "I do apologize. Teo says you are an airbender, and you certainly look the part. But you also speak as if you know what it looked like before we made this our home, yet you couldn't have been older than a toddler at the time."
Aang lowered his head and stared at the ground, gripping his staff tightly. What should he say? It was now clear to him that Air Nomad sightings were so rare to the point that these people had never seen one in their lifetimes. Either that, or... He didn't want to think about the other option.
First, he had made the mistake of making it very clear that he was an airbender to these people, and now he had probably revealed too much in his anger. Should I just tell them the truth? These people seem to be isolated from the rest of the Earth Kingdom, but so was Kyoshi, and look how that turned out.
"I—" he started, intending to make something up on the spot, then sighed. He didn't like lying to people. "I know what it's supposed to look like because the last time I came here was a hundred years ago. I'm the Avatar."
Zuko immediately tensed up upon hearing Aang's revelation. He's been so careful so far, and now he just tells these people we just met that he's the Avatar! This was going to end up like Kyoshi all over again.
However, one thing was definitely different this time. On Kyoshi, when Aang had revealed his identity as the Avatar, he had done so with pride, and very much seemed to enjoy the amount of attention he was getting. However, Zuko could tell from Aang's body language that he did not reveal this information with the same intentions.
"So the rumors were true..." Teo's father breathed, both him and his son staring at the Avatar in shock, the workers murmuring to one another behind them. Zuko supposed he shouldn't be surprised that word had already spread over the entire continent since they had left Kyoshi Island, but it was still unsettling to him just how quickly it had happened. "But you're just a child! The Avatar was said to have disappeared nearly a century ago!"
"It's a long story, and I know this may sound hard to believe," Aang replied. "But I was frozen in an iceberg in the South Sea for nearly a hundred years until my friends here," he gestured to Iroh and Zuko. "Freed me about two months ago."
Suddenly, Teo and his father's gazes, which had previously been focused on Aang, shifted to look back at Zuko and his uncle, noticing them for the first time. Zuko cleared his throat awkwardly. "Uh... hi. I'm Lee. And this is my uncle... Mushi." He was terrible at coming up with names on the spot.
Iroh shot him a brief glare before putting on a wide smile. "He was named after his father, so we just call him Junior."
Zuko groaned internally and resisted the urge to smack himself in the forehead.
"So you actually have been here before we came? Before the war?" Teo asked.
Aang nodded. "I've been trying to look for any evidence that my people are still out there. We heard from a storyteller in one of the nearby villages that they had seen flying people in the area, so I had hoped..." he trailed off, looking down at the ground.
Teo and his father looked at him with sympathy. "I'm sorry, dear boy," Teo's father said. "When we arrived here, the place looked like it had already been abandoned for decades."
Aang sighed, and said nothing. Zuko felt pity for him. It seemed that every time he had been close to finding a trace of his people, his hopes had been quickly dashed.
Teo looked at his father, then back to Aang. "Hey, Aang. I want to show you something." He looked back at his father again. "Is that okay, dad? Can I show them around?"
Teo's father nodded. "I've got some projects that I need to get back to work on, so go ahead." He turned to Aang. "Who knows, maybe there's something here that will help you find your people! You are welcome to stay here as long as you like." He bowed towards them, then gave Teo an affectionate pat on the head and turned to leave.
"One more thing!" Zuko blurted out, causing the man to stop in his tracks. "Um... Could you... keep Aang's identity to yourselves? The Fire Nation knows he's returned, and if word got out that he was here..."
Aang nodded. "Zu— Lee's right. I don't want to put you in danger. I would appreciate it if you told your people not to spread the word outside of the temple."
Teo's father nodded. "Of course! Our lips are sealed." He made a zipping motion across his lips for emphasis, then turned on his heel and walked back down the corridor out of the chamber, whistling a jaunty tune.
What an odd guy, Zuko thought. He hoped he would keep his word.
Teo led the trio to a different room in the temple, still filled with as many pipes as the last one. The more he saw of the temple's current state, the more depressed Aang felt. It was getting harder and harder for him to deny the obvious: that he probably was the last airbender.
"I just can't get over it. There's not a single thing that's the same," Aang said dejectedly.
"I don't know about that," Teo said, picking up something from the ground. "The temple might be different, but the creatures that live here are probably direct descendants of the ones who lived here a long time ago."
He handed the object to Iroh, who was standing closest to him. Aang peered down to see a fluffy black-and-white hermit crab crawling in Iroh's palm. "Would you look at that," Iroh said with a chuckle.
Aang felt a small smile tug at the corners of his mouth. He did remember the hermit crabs that he and his friends used to hunt for and play with when they had traveled to the temple to watch the Sky Bison polo championships. He laid out his palm next to Iroh's, and the creature crawled onto it. He giggled slightly at the familiar tickle of its fuzzy legs.
"Wanna hold it?" He said, putting his hand up to Zuko. Zuko leaned back for a moment, seeming apprehensive, then gingerly held his own palm out. Aang let the crab crawl onto Zuko's palm, using his index finger to pet its shell.
Zuko's eyes soon softened slightly and Aang saw a slight smile appear on his lips. Aang grinned at the sight. Zuko probably didn't want to admit it, but he had a way with animals. Momo had taken to curling up next to the Fire Prince at night when they slept, and when Zuko thought he wasn't looking, every so often Aang had even caught him giving Appa some scratches on his muzzle.
"Besides, there's one part of the temple that hasn't changed at all." Teo continued, and they followed him to the next area of the temple.
At last, they came to a stop at the end of a long hallway to a large wooden door with airbending symbols on it. Aang's eyes widened as he recognized the similarity to the door at the Southern Air Temple.
"Hey, isn't this just like that door we saw at the Southern Air Temple?" Zuko said, echoing what Aang had been thinking.
"Only an airbender can open it, so inside it's completely untouched," Teo said matter-of-factly. "Just the way the monks left it. I've always wondered what it's like in there..."
Aang's brow furrowed in contemplation. Did he want to open the door, and risk disturbing the last part of the temple that had remained untouched? If it truly hadn't been opened since the Fire Nation had attacked, he probably wouldn't learn anything about where possible survivors would have gone anyway.
"Aang?" The voice of Iroh broke through his thoughts.
Aang turned around. "I'm sorry. This is the last part of the temple that's the same as it was. I want it to stay that way."
He could see the disappointment in Teo's eyes, though the boy tried his hardest to not let it show. "I completely understand. I just wanted you to know that it's here."
"Thanks," Aang said, the uncomfortable feeling of sadness creeping back up inside his chest.
"Come on. We've got some spare rooms that you guys to use to get some rest. It sounds like you've been traveling for a long time." Teo said, and Aang nodded in reply, following him back down the hallway.
That evening, Aang, Zuko, and Iroh ate dinner with the refugees in what used to be the temple's dining hall, which Aang was relieved to see hadn't changed too much. What also made him feel a bit better was the food, which was all plant-based and utilized a lot of the same ingredients he was familiar with that only grew at this certain altitude.
Surrounded by so many people, several of them laughing and joking with one another, reminded him of his friends, and he felt a bittersweet mixture of sadness and joy. Iroh chatted jovially with Teo's father and some of the other refugees, and even though Zuko was still fairly quiet as usual, Aang could tell that he was physically more relaxed than he had been in quite some time. He was glad to see it.
When he awoke early the next morning, Aang managed to drag a sleepy and slightly grumpy Zuko down to meet Teo. The Earth Kingdom boy had whispered to him at dinner the previous night that he should get Zuko to try out one of their gliders, and Aang was immediately on board with it. However, he had a feeling that if he asked Zuko outright, the Fire Prince would simply refuse to follow him.
He didn't know how he had done it, but after only a minute or so of begging, Zuko actually agreed to come with him. Just a couple months ago, he could have begged for hours and the Fire Prince wouldn't have relented.
"Are you gonna tell me what this is about now?" Zuko grumbled, arms folded as they stepped into one of the hot air transportation contraptions.
Aang grinned and pulled on the rope that triggered the mechanism to lower the platform. "You'll see! I told you, it's a surprise."
Zuko huffed and rolled his eyes, though Aang could see a hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
When they at last arrived outside, Teo waved to them, his chair already fitted out with his own glider. Next to him on the ground sat another glider.
Zuko raised an eyebrow and looked over at Aang, who was still grinning widely. "Oh no. No."
"Come on!" Aang begged. "Don't you wanna know what it's like? I do it all the time!"
Zuko shook his head. "You're an airbender!"
"Well Teo's not an airbender, and he does it all the time!" Aang countered. "Plus, we fly on Appa every day. It's not that different."
"When we're flying on Appa, at least you're controlling him. I have no idea how to control a glider!"
"Don't worry," Aang said, patting him on the shoulder. "I'll be right beside you. And I'll catch you if you fall," Zuko narrowed his eyes. "Which you won't!"
Zuko groaned. "You're not gonna give this up, are you?" Aang shook his head, and Zuko sighed. "Fine. I'll try it."
"Yes!" Aang exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air.
When Zuko had his glider ready, he came to a stop at the edge of the cliff next to Aang, looking apprehensively at the layer of clouds below.
"The wind will carry you," Teo said, rolling up next to them. "It supports something inside you. Something even lighter than air. And that something takes over when you fly."
Zuko's brow furrowed, and he put his glider down. "I don't think I have that something in me. This was a bad idea."
Teo laughed. "Impossible! Everybody has it!"
"Spirit," Aang said.
"What?" Teo asked.
"Spirit. That's the something you're talking about."
Teo placed his hand on his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah, I suppose it is."
Aang walked over to Zuko and handed him back his glider. "Here, let me show you." He grabbed Zuko's hands and placed them onto the front bar, causing the firebender to flinch slightly. He must really be nervous, Aang thought, feeling slightly guilty for pushing Zuko to do this. But once he sees how fun it is, he'll be fine!
"Now just make sure once you've pushed off to hook your feet back here," Aang said, pointing to the smaller bar on the back of the glider.
"Are you ready?" Teo asked.
Zuko took a deep breath, and sighed. "No," he said, then immediately jumped off.
Aang peered over the edge of the cliff, staff in hand, ready to race down to catch Zuko in case he had fallen off his glider. Thankfully, he watched the Fire Prince glide back up, a nervous but excited expression on his face, his ponytail whipping in the wind.
Aang grinned and flipped open his own glider, jumping off to join him. Momo chattered and followed him, and the two quickly caught up to Zuko, flying next to him.
"I'm flying. I'm actually flying," Zuko said incredulously, laughing nervously.
"Just make sure you keep your mouth closed so you don't swallow a bug!" Aang said, glancing at Momo, who was more than happy to swallow bugs. "You're doing great! See, isn't this fun?"
"I guess it's not that bad," Zuko said, though the excitement on his face betrayed his true emotions.
"I gotta say, even though Teo's not an airbender, he really does have the spirit of one!" Aang grinned over at the Earth Kingdom boy, who was laughing as he zipped over and around them in the air.
After they were done flying, the three boys landed again, Aang having to help guide Zuko back to the ground. It was almost noon and they were all starving, so they returned to the dining hall, where Iroh and Teo's father were engaged in friendly conversation.
As Aang ate his congee and listened to Teo and Zuko chat next to him, he sighed contentedly and looked out the window at the misty mountains. It almost felt like home.
Two weeks later, despite extensive searching, Aang had unfortunately once again found nothing to point them towards where possible Air Nomad survivors would have gone. Because of this, he had decided at last that he wanted to open the sanctuary door, as it was the one place that he had not checked yet. It was also clear that Teo wanted to know what was inside, and he had proven to have that same spirit that his people had once shared, so Aang felt less bad about showing it to him.
He had genuinely enjoyed his time here so far, more so than he had anywhere else on their journey. Iroh and Zuko also seemed to be enjoying themselves, and Zuko hadn't even once complained about them staying in one place too long. The Fire Prince also hadn't mentioned anything about taking him to his father in quite some time, which Aang saw as a very good sign. Perhaps he had truly won Zuko over.
"I've been thinking," he said to Teo early one morning at breakfast. "If you want to see what's in that room, I'd be happy to open the door for you." Right now, it was just Aang, Teo and a handful of other refugees in the dining hall. Teo's father had gone to work on some project, while Iroh and Zuko had been fast asleep in their room when Aang had left.
"Really?" Teo replied, eyes widening in excitement. "Great!"
"You just have to promise me that you guys will leave it alone, though. I'm gonna close the doors after we check it out, just in case," Aang said.
"Of course, I completely understand," Teo replied, and gestured for Aang to follow him out the dining hall door.
Aang followed Teo, and eventually they arrived at the long hallway. When they came to the large wooden doors, Aang shifted into an airbending stance in preparation.
"I can't believe I'm finally going to see what's inside!" Teo said excitedly.
Aang airbent into the door's contraption, causing each of the three dials to flip just as they had when he had opened the door at the South Air Temple.
When the doors swung open, Aang's smile immediately disappeared. The room, contrary to what Teo had said, was not untouched. Instead, it was filled with Fire Nation weapons, tools, and banners with the Fire Nation insignia emblazened upon them. "This is a nightmare," Aang murmured in horror. Were these refugees helping the Fire Nation?
He glanced over at Teo, who also had a look of shock and horror on his face that appeared to be genuine. It seemed he had no idea about any of this, to Aang's relief.
"You don't understand!" a voice called out from behind them. Aang and Teo turned to see Teo's father, panting as though he was out of breath.
"You're making weapons for the Fire Nation!" Aang said angrily.
"Explain all this! Now!" Teo demanded.
Teo's father at first appeared hesitant, but then slumped his shoulders in resignation. "It was about a year after we moved here. Fire Nation soldiers found our settlement. You were too young to remember this, Teo. They were going to destroy everything! Burn it to the ground! I pleaded with them, I begged them to spare us! They asked what I had to offer. I offered... my services." He shook his head disgracefully. "You must understand. I did this for you!" he pleaded to Teo.
Teo looked away, refusing to meet his father's eye.
Aang squeezed his eyes shut, fists tightening at his side. "Do they know I'm here? Did you tell them?"
The mechanist's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No, no! I would never!"
Aang's eyes narrowed, unsure if he could believe the mechanist or not. "When are they coming?"
"Soon," Teo's father sighed. "This afternoon, for their monthly shipment. But I swear I won't tell them you're here! You, Mushi, and Junior are welcome to stay, the officer won't be here long!"
Aang made an exasperated sound and turned to the side to think. "Maybe... maybe there's a way we can make them leave you alone?"
"How? We don't have any benders, nor any fighters. And we certainly don't have the numbers to stand a chance against the Fire Nation army."
"I could fight," Aang said. "I'm the Avatar."
The mechanist shook his head. "No offense, dear boy, but Avatar or not, you're just a child! You can't expect to go up against an army of Fire Nationals and come out unscathed."
Aang didn't want to admit it, but he was probably right. Even with Iroh and Zuko's help, how much could they really do against an entire army? Provoking the Fire Nation would also put all of the refugees at risk. He hated feeling so helpless.
The mechanist sighed, placing his head in his hands. "Believe me, I hate it as much as you do, but this is the only way to keep us safe."
Aang huffed through his nose. "Fine. We need to leave, then," he said, and pushed past Teo's father and out of the room.
Zuko sighed as he gazed out the window into the early morning light. He had to admit, he had grown fond of the view from the air temple windows. It was always a sight to behold.
Truth be told, this was probably the most relaxed he had felt in quite a long time. Usually after they had stayed in a place more than five days, he was antsy, itching to move on out of fear of being tracked down by Zhao. But they hadn't seen Zhao in weeks. And as far as he knew, nobody knew they were at the Northern Air Temple aside from the refugees who lived here.
He was glad that Aang now seemed to be back to his usual cheerful self. It had been difficult to see him in such a serious and angry state when they had first arrived. Serious and angry were familiar traits of Zuko's, but it didn't feel right seeing them manifested so strongly in Aang.
It had also been nice to have made a new friend in Teo. Aang was right—the boy did have a lot of spirit. The three of them had had a lot of fun the past two weeks, and Zuko had even gotten pretty good at gliding.
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his uncle yawning. "You're up early, Prince Zuko," Iroh said, sitting up in his bed roll.
Zuko smiled slightly. "Yeah. I guess I'm becoming more of a morning person. It's weird."
Iroh smiled back at him. "It is good to see you happy, nephew."
Happy. Huh. Just a few weeks ago, Zuko had been convinced that he would never be as happy as he had been as a child again. But strangely, now he would say that maybe that wasn't the case.
"It's not so bad here," Zuko said, looking back out the window. "It's cold, but the hot air helps with that. And the mechanist's inventions really do make life a lot easier. It's also isolated, and the Fire Nation doesn't know about it." He turned back to face Iroh. "Maybe—"
Suddenly, the door flew open, and Aang rushed inside. "We're leaving," he said sharply, and began packing up his things.
Iroh and Zuko looked at one another in confusion and astonishment. "Why the haste, Aang?" Iroh asked gently.
Aang breathed heavily out of his nose. "The mechanist has been making weapons for the Fire Nation this whole time. He's been keeping them in the sanctuary chamber, hidden behind the wooden doors."
Zuko immediately stood up, panic rising in his chest. "What?! Did he tell the Fire Nation you're here?"
"No. At least, he claims he hasn't. But he said that an officer is coming this afternoon to pick up their monthly shipment, so we need to be gone by then."
Iroh sighed, shaking his head. "I thought it was strange that the Fire Nation was completely unaware that the Northern Air Temple was inhabited."
Zuko looked up when he heard a knock on the door, and Teo rolled into the room. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea he was doing any of this. I understand you wanting to leave." He looked down, sadness and guilt evident in his eyes.
"It's okay, Teo," Aang said. "Like you said, you didn't know."
Teo shook his head. "It's not okay. If you're leaving, you should at least take some supplies and food with you. My dad said that's the least he can do."
Iroh pushed himself up with a grunt and pulled on his shoes. "You boys pack up here. Teo, why don't you show me to the supplies?"
Teo nodded, and Iroh followed him out of the room.
Zuko quickly got to work gathering his things, stress, anger, and anxiety bubbling up within him. He should have known better. Good things never lasted long in his life. "I knew we shouldn't have stayed here this long," he muttered. "We shouldn't have even come here in the first place."
Aang stopped what he was doing and sighed. "Zuko, please. I'm not really in the mood for your lecturing right now."
Zuko's eyes widened slightly, not expecting to be spoken to in such a harsh way by the usually kind and cheerful airbender, and suddenly felt defensive. "Fine! It's not you've given us a choice anyway."
Aang turned around, brow knotted in anger. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Zuko grunted in frustration. "You're the one who has been dragging us all over the world to all the Air Temples. And for what? We haven't even found anything!"
Aang folded his arms. "Well what did you expect me to do? Just let you bully me into taking us to the Fire Nation? I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't think they want to capture me just to have a friendly little chat." He looked off to the side, and was silent for a moment. "Besides, look how they've treated you."
Aang's words triggered something within Zuko. The memory of the Agni Kai with his father flashed in his mind, and he winced as he remembered the pain of his flesh burning. He broke out into a cold sweat, and anger flared deep within him. "The only reason you aren't on my father's doorstep right now is because I lost my resources and crew. My honor is on the line, and I want to go home, but I'm still stuck in this situation with you!"
The Avatar's expression abruptly shifted upon hearing Zuko's words. Zuko expected to see anger in his eyes, but was taken aback when he saw hurt.
"Even after everything you've learned about what happened to my people..." He looked down and squeezed his eyes shut. "How can you justify it? I've told you over and over again, we were monks. Nomads! We never attacked anyone. If anyone attacked us, we were always taught to avoid and evade, never to fight back unless absolutely necessary!" Aang's voice grew louder the more he spoke.
Zuko was at a loss for words. He thought back to everything he had seen at the temples he had visited so far, and everything he had learned from Aang. And there was that uncomfortable feeling in his stomach again, this time back in full force and stronger than ever.
"I... There had to be a good reason..." Zuko murmured, his head spinning.
"The good reason," Aang replied, anger reignited in his voice. "Was probably because he wanted to kill me!"
As he uttered the last word of his sentence, his tattoos briefly glowed, and a blast of air emanated from his body. Zuko took a step back and tripped, falling to the ground.
When Aang saw what he had done, his angry expression immediately shifted to one of guilt. "I'm sorry! I..." He sighed, and stepped backwards toward the wall of their room, slumping to the ground. "Zuko... Nobody knew I was the Avatar when I... when I got frozen in the iceberg. Nobody except the head monks at my temple and Monk Gyatso. They weren't even supposed to tell me until my sixteenth birthday. But they said there were troubling signs... That war might be upon us..." He folded his knees to his chest and put his head down into his arms.
"Nobody else knew?" Zuko repeated in shock. "Then... my grandfather...?"
"I don't know what you were taught, but it was a lie. He couldn't have known who the Avatar was, just that they had been reincarnated into the Air Nomads. That's probably why he attacked all of the temples..." The airbender began to cry. "It's because of me. My people are gone because of me."
Zuko stared back at the Avatar, a torrent of conflicting emotions battling one another in his mind. He's not telling the truth. He's trying to deceive you, a voice echoed. It was the voice of his father. How dare you doubt your nation, your family!
No! another voice countered. This time, it was the voice of his mother. How could he lie? Look at him, Zuko. Do you think his tears are fake? He's just a child, a child who is in pain, a child who has lost everything. You know what it is like to lose everything. You didn't deserve it, and neither did he.
Zuko squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head violently. He had no idea what to think. "Aang, I—"
"Aang, Zuko!" The voice of his uncle abruptly interrupted him. He turned to see Iroh standing in the doorway, looking out of breath. "I heard shouting. Are you two alright?"
He looked to Zuko, then to Aang, who was still crying with his head down. "What in the name of the Spirits happened?"
Zuko and Aang didn't speak to one another after the argument. As the two silently packed their belongings into the saddle, Zuko was unable to ignore the gnawing feeling of guilt in his stomach, head pounding from the myriad of conflicting thoughts running through his mind. The skies had grown cloudy, and he heard the rumble of thunder somewhere in the distance. He hoped they weren't going to get rained on before they found their next place of shelter.
When they were finally ready to take off, Teo rolled up next to Appa, and Aang jumped off the bison's head to land next to him. The two exchanged some words, and Aang gave him a hug. Zuko thought he should probably say a farewell to Teo as well, but couldn't bring himself to move from where he was sitting in the saddle.
"Safe journeys to you, Aang. I hope we'll meet again. I'm sorry things ended up this way," Teo said, and turned to wave at Zuko and Iroh. "You too, Mushi and Junior!"
Zuko nodded curtly in reply, not even caring enough to feel annoyed at hearing the name "Junior" directed towards him, while Iroh waved back kindly in response. "Thank you, Teo," his uncle replied.
"Appa, yip yip!" Aang said, whipping the reins, and they flew off into the west, just as the first few raindrops began to hit.