Chapter 10
Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Time had passed since Katara had healed the Fire Nation royals and departed from Aang. The traveling trio were still in search of a suitable place for Aang to truly be able to peacefully learn firebending, and that search had led them up north. The air temples were hard for people to access who didn't have the Water Tribes' resources, and although Aang knew that they would find him eventually, he had decided that he would try for the Northern Air Temple.
It was a beautiful place for them to hopefully be able to get some more training done. They had already managed to get him through the basics of firebending and were working on more advanced lessons now, but he still had much to learn for the upcoming fight. He would need to use as much time as he could to learn the other elements before the end of Summer. Though he found himself wondering where he would be able to find a suitable earthbending teacher.
Deciding to save that thought for a later time, Aang looked back at his friends and saw that they were just sitting there. Azula looked as bored as ever, but Zuko looked nervous about something. Looking closer at his friend, he realized that Zuko was holding onto something in his hand and raised a brow. Finding that he wanted to know what Zuko was nervous about, Aang jumped from Appa's head and made his way to the saddle where he sat in front of Zuko.
"Zuko, what's wrong?" he decided to be up front with the young firebender, but Zuko's eyes widened as he put whatever was in his hand into his pocket.
"Nothing," Zuko answered him carefully, knowing well that Aang wouldn't be happy once he found out that he had taken Katara's necklace and prevented her from having it, even if it was for a good reason. "Nothing's wrong."
Aang, seeing the look on Zuko's face, expressed his doubt as he raised a brow at Zuko, and Zuko sighed as he saw that he wasn't going to get out of this. Reaching into his pocket, he produced the necklace and displayed it to Aang, making the young airbender gasp as he saw just why Zuko had been nervous. "You have Katara's necklace?! For how long?!"
"Since we ditched them at the Earth Kingdom refinery," he answered as he looked down, knowing that Aang wouldn't be happy with him but knowing that he had done what he thought was best. "I found it on the ground as we were leaving, and I could tell that this might come in handy. I wanted to have a bargaining chip in case we got in a situation where we might need to use it to get ourselves out of it."
"Zuko, you shouldn't have done that," Aang slightly chided him as he looked at his friend. "I understand what you were thinking, but that necklace means the world to Katara."
"Relax, Avatar," Azula decided to defend her brother as she rolled her eyes. "So what if your girlfriend doesn't get her precious necklace? With how they've been hunting us, it's a good idea to have something that will help us if they manage to corner us."
Aang, seeing that his friends were being rather unsympathetic to Katara, and ignoring the comment about Katara being his girlfriend since he certainly wouldn't mind it if Katara was his girlfriend, responded. "Guys, this is her mother's necklace we're talking about. She was killed when Katara was just a little girl. I want them to back off just as much as you guys, but we can't and won't do this to Katara. There's gotta be another way."
"Well, I was feeling guilty about it, anyway," Zuko told him as he looked at the young airbender. "She healed us even though it was our people who killed her mother. I know she did it for you, but she still didn't have to do it, and if she never knew you she probably never would." Giving Aang the necklace, he then said. "I'm sorry that I took it. I was only trying to make sure that we had some kind of advantage to use against them in case we got in a tight spot, but I know I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."
Aang smiled as he saw that Zuko was truly sorry for what he had done and, knowing that he couldn't hold it against him, took the necklace and admired it for a moment before putting it into his pocket. "Well, I'm glad that you understand why we can't do that. And if we do get in a tight spot with them, we'll figure out. We make a good team."
"Yeah," Zuko smiled a little as he nodded in agreement. "We do make a good team. Except for Azula over here," he attempted to joke, making Aang laugh a little as Azula simply rolled her eyes.
"Well, now that that's settled," she said as she looked at the airbender. "How much longer until we get to the air temple?"
"It shouldn't be much longer now," Aang answered her as he brought out a map, being relieved that he had been able to find Katara's necklace and that he would be able to give it to her the next time that they met. "If I'm right, then we should be seeing the top of the air temple right about… now."
Being correct, Zuko and Azula gasped as they looked and saw the beautiful Northern Air Temple in the distance, making Aang grin as he saw that even they had to appreciate its beauty. "See? Told ya," Aang laughed as he looked at his friends.
Looking ahead of them, Azula gasped again as she saw something flying in the distance. "Avatar, are you sure that you're the last airbender?"
Aang, being surprised by this question and looking at Azula with confusion on his face, decided to reply. "Not that I want to be, but I'm pretty sure. Why?" Azula pointed in front of them and, following her finger, gasped as well as he saw people flying in the skies. Feeling his heart racing at the possibility that he was not the only airbender, he smiled back at his friends and said. "They might be airbenders!" Getting excited to see if they really were, he guided Appa to go faster while Momo chittered on Zuko's shoulder, making Zuko absently scratch Momo's head as he tried to see if the people flying were indeed airbenders or not.
Unfortunately, as they got closer to the flyers, Aang was close enough to see that they were not airbending, only gliding. Letting out a sigh of disappointment, Aang sat back against the saddle and said. "They're not airbenders."
"What do you mean?" Zuko asked incredulously as he looked at the people ahead of them. "Those people are flying!"
"Gliding, maybe, but not airbending," Aang answered as he crossed his arms over his chest as he tried to temper his disappointment. "Look at how they move. They've got no spirit." Suddenly, the air was filled with laughter as one young man in a glider that appeared to be attached to his makeshift wheelchair came flying through, making Aang smile a little as he saw that the kid was truly having fun being in the air.
"I don't know, Avatar," Azula shrugged as she watched the kid fly around them. "That kid seems pretty… eh… spirited to me."
Grinning as Aang decided that he would show them what a real airbender was capable of, Aang grabbed his staff and whirled it open, taking off into the sky without another word. After showing off some fancy moves and displaying how a real airbender flew, he was soon flying next to the kid who had garnered their attention.
"Wow, that was pretty great," the kid smiled as he looked at the airbender. "You're a natural at this stuff. How long have you been gliding?"
"We airbenders don't glide, we fly," Aang told him with a grin, making the kid gasp as he heard him say that he was an airbender.
"You're an airbender?!" the kid asked in surprise, watching as Aang nodded. Deciding that he wanted some proof for himself, the kid challenged. "Prove it." Aang grinned and decided to do just that. Using some airbending to make himself go up higher than any of the gliders could go he closed his staff and let himself free fall into the sky, laughing like a mad man as he made his way back down. Just before he reached where the kid who had challenged him still was, he opened his glider again and retook his place next to him as the kid looked at him. "Wow, you really are an airbender! That must mean you are the Avatar! That's so cool! I've heard so much about you!"
Never being much one for praise, Aang modestly replied with a gentle smile. "Thanks." Deciding that it was time for them to land, Aang and the kid finally landed on the platform of the Air Temple, and soon some people came out to take the glider off of the kid's wheelchair.
Turning to Aang, the kid then said. "It's an honor to meet you. My name's Teo. My dad is the one in charge here."
"Nice to meet you, Teo," Aang smiled at his new friend as he gestured to Zuko and Azula who were climbing down off of Appa. "These are my friends Zuko and Azula, and my bison and lemur, Appa and Momo."
"Whoa, a sky bison!" Teo looked in amazement as he wheeled up to Appa. "I've heard about them, but I never thought I would get to see one. Can I pet him?"
"Sure!" Aang jovially replied, knowing that Appa liked to be pet and liking that Teo appeared to be fascinated by Appa.
Once Teo was done petting Appa, he turned to the three and said. "So, what brings you guys to the Northern Air Temple?"
"We thought that the Air Temples were abandoned, so we were hoping to use this place so I could continue my training," Aang answered him, making Teo smile as he saw that the young airbender might stick around a while.
"Well, it's definitely not abandoned," Teo smiled sheepishly as he looked around at his people. "But you guys are more than welcome to stay here and do your training. Of course, it's really more yours than ours, but…"
Aang laughed simply as he saw that Teo was trying not to offend him. "Don't worry, Teo. It's okay." Looking around and becoming sad as he was reminded of his lost people, he forced his sadness down and continued. "My people aren't around to enjoy it anymore, so I'm glad someone else can." Teo smiled at this, and appeared to be relieved as he looked back at the temple.
"Well, why don't I give you guys the tour?" he asked as he looked at them all. "You guys will love it."
"Not to be rude, but we're not here for tours," Azula decided to object as she looked at the young man in front of her. "The Avatar needs to train."
"We can train later, Azula," Aang replied as he looked at his friend with a hopeful look in his eyes. "I haven't been here for over a hundred years. Can we please go check it out?" Zuko shared a look with Azula, and although neither looked very happy that their plans were being delayed, they finally seemed to come to an agreement and nodded, making Aang smile. "Great!" Turning to Teo with his smile intact, he said. "Let's go!"
Before long the four soon found themselves walking throughout the Northern Air Temple, and Aang was horrified by what he saw. "Everything is so… different," Aang said in clear sadness as he saw the disrepair that the Air Temple had gone through in the last hundred years. Not to mention that many of his people's paintings and statues had been… repurposed for the use of the people who were living there.
"That's one way of putting it," Zuko agreed, looking around and seeing what must have once been beautiful Air Nomad paintings around them and seeing them covered with machinery.
"I know, isn't it great?" Teo smiled as he looked around. "My dad is the mastermind behind this whole place."
"No, it's just… different," Aang answered as he looked at one of the nearby statues, watching steam coming pouring out of the creature's mouth and becoming disgusted. Turning back to Teo, he said. "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be mean, but this is… not what I was expecting."
Teo smiled sadly in understanding. "I understand. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. My dad means well, but I can see why you would be upset about the changes we've made to the place." Being glad that Teo seemed to understand, Aang sighed and looked at a mural of his people, becoming sad again as he saw just how much damage had been done due to his hundred year slumber. Deciding not to focus on it for the moment, Aang put on a smile and turned to Teo as he said.
"Well, come on. The tour's not over yet." Teo smiled at this, being glad that Aang was not letting the changes get to him too much, and motioned for them to follow as he led the way up toward another platform of the temple.
Aang smiled as he looked around. They were in an outer courtyard with murals of his people surrounding them, and despite the clear sign of damage that had been done to it, it was still clearly intact. "Wow. I'm glad that this is still here," he said aloud, making Teo smile as he found himself to be glad that he had shown them here.
"It's one of the most peaceful places in the Temple," Teo agreed as he looked around. "I come here a lot when I need a moment to think by myself."
"I'm bored. What's next?" Azula asked, getting a roll of his eyes from Zuko as he saw how impatient and ungrateful she could be. Just as Teo opened his mouth to respond, the sound of someone yelling from the opposite wall as they warned.
"Look out!" Without another word of warning, a wrecking ball crashed through the statue of an air nomad, and the kids braced as the debris went flying around them. Once the dust had settled, an older man with a few people behind him came walking in as they tried to get the dust out of the air. "Don't you people know to stay away from construction sites?"
Aang, seeing a statue of his people destroyed and further ruin brought to the memory of his people, became angry and leveled his staff at the man in front of him. "What did you do?! That was a statue of my people!"
"Well, we needed to make room for a bathhouse," the older man answered as he began waving in front of his nose. "People in here are starting to stink."
"This whole place stinks!" Aang shouted back at him in anger, slamming his staff down as he sent a gust of air at the wrecking ball, sending it flying back into the air as he turned his anger back to the man who was responsible for the changes made to his people's home. "What are you doing here?! Who said you could come here and destroy my people's history like this?! I've seen what it was like when the monks were here. I know what it's supposed to be like!"
"You were here with the monks?" the old man asked in confusion, undoubtedly wondering how this could be since the airbender was quite young. "But you're only twelve."
"Dad, he's the Avatar," Teo told him in slight embarrassment as he saw that he would have to explain to his father the situation. "He used to come here a hundred years ago."
Sudden realization seemed to dawn on him, and he bowed to the airbender as he took on an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry, young Avatar. We did not mean to disrespect your people. Frankly, we had thought that there were no airbenders left."
"Not yet," Aang told him as he tightened his grip on his staff to keep his anger in check before deciding to ask. "How did you and your people come to be here?"
"It's a long story," the man replied, but decided that he owed Aang an explanation as he looked at what was left of the statue he had demolished. "Years ago, our people's homes were destroyed in a fight between the Water Tribes and our Earth Kingdom soldiers." Looking at his son, he sighed and said. "Teo was badly injured, and we had lost his mother in the ensuing flood. So, I led our people away from what had once been our home in hopes that we might find a new place to peacefully settle down. After a while of searching, we came across this place. A beautiful home with no one around. We had all heard about the tragedy of the Air Nomads, and so we thought that we might be able to call this place home. Isn't that what we all want at the end of the day? A safe, warm place to call home?"
Zuko and Azula didn't appear to be phased by his story, but Aang understood where he was coming from. He was glad that they had been able to find shelter amidst the ruins of his people, but he was not happy that they had decided to destroy his people's relics and history. "Maybe, but you can make a home without destroying the home's past," Aang answered him as he looked around, seeing what was left of the Temple and wishing that he had been around to prevent this from happening.
"I suppose you're right," the man reluctantly agreed as he looked away from the young airbender. "Progress just seems to have a way of getting away from you." Hearing a nearby stack of candles go off, the man looked at it and his eyes widened before turning back to his friends. "Look at the time! The pulley system must be oiled before dark."
Zuko, having noticed the candles flashing, became curious as he looked at it. "How does that thing tell you the time?" he asked curiously as he looked at the man in front of him.
"I've rigged the candles to go off at every hour," the man explained as he gestured to his device. "For every hour there is one flash, so if it flashes five times that means-"
"It's the fifth hour," Zuko finished for him as he nodded, finding that he appreciated the ingenuity of the device. "That's actually pretty smart."
"If you like that, wait until you try my finger-safe knife sharpener!" the inventor told him with a wide smile on his face as he took off his fake fingers and handed them to Zuko. "Only took me three tries to get it right."
Zuko took on a look of horror and disgust as he held the wooden fingers, but gave them back as he tried to pretend he hadn't seen that and turned to Aang. "Alright, I think that's enough of a tour. Are you ready for some training yet?"
"Wait, there's one last thing I want to show you," Teo interrupted before Aang could respond. "I know you guys have a lot of training to do, but there is one place in the temple that hasn't been touched." Aang, smiling as he saw that Teo was trying to help him, nodded and followed him as Teo led the way. Zuko and Azula shared a look of annoyance, but decided not to argue. It was clear that Aang was not very happy about what had happened to the Temple, and they knew that he might feel better about it from seeing a part of the temple that was the same as it was a hundred years ago.
Before long, Teo led them further into the temple until they reached a door that was almost exactly like the one at the Southern Air Temple. "This is the place. No one's been able to get inside since only an airbender can access it. I've always wondered what it looked like inside…"
Aang remained silent, and Azula raised a brow at him. "Well? What do you say, Avatar?"
Closing his eyes, he sighed and said. "I'm sorry, but this is the last part of the Temple that hasn't changed. I want it to stay that way."
"Of course. I understand," Teo smiled sadly, being understanding, but also wishing that he could see what was beyond the door. "I just wanted you to know it was here."
"Thanks, Teo," Aang gave him a gentle smile before looking at the door, finding himself missing his people as he closed his eyes and then forced himself to focus on the present. Turning to Zuko and Azula, he said. "Okay, I'm ready to train."
"Well, it's about time," Azula said with a bit of a roll of her eyes, even if she knew that Aang was having a tender moment right now with his people. "Let's get to work."
"Mind if I watch?" Teo asked hopefully, knowing that getting to see the Avatar train was a rare privilege that not many people got to have.
"Sure!" Aang smiled at his friend as they began walking out of the room. "We'll go back out to the courtyard. Firebending is really best done in a place where I can't burn anything." Teo laughed at this, and followed his friends as they made their way to the courtyard. However, none of them knew that they were in for quite a surprise.
"Sokka, where are we going?" Katara asked in annoyance as they rode up the mountain in their multi-surface vehicle. They had recently debarked from their ship and were currently going somewhere that Katara had not been informed of, and she found herself wanting answers as she looked at her brother. "We should be out looking for Aang."
"We are looking for Aang," Sokka told her as he kept his eyes trained on the path ahead of them. "Recent reports have shown that Aang was in the area, and given that he's an airbender, it's reasonable to assume that he came here to train. He probably didn't realize that there were people living here, though."
"There are?" Katara asked in surprise, looking at her brother as she asked. "You can't mean other airbenders."
"No, of course not," Sokka agreed as he looked at his sister. "For Aang's sake, I wish there were, but he's the last of them. No, these people lost their home some time ago when a battle between us and some Earth Kingdom soldiers destroyed their home. They came here and decided to rebuild, but we found them and managed to convince the leader to help us."
Katara raised a brow at him as she heard her brother. "Help us how?"
Grinning as he looked around, he gestured to the very device they were using and said. "He makes us all kinds of things, but he's really good at making us specialized vehicles like this. The guy's a genius. In return for making us new stuff, we let them stay there since it kind of belongs to the Northern Water Tribe."
"Actually, it belongs to Aang, Sokka," Katara told him, not liking that Sokka seemed to have assumed that it was Water Tribe property just because it was within their territory. "Aang's the last airbender, so all of the Air Temples belong to him."
"Well, we didn't know that Aang was even alive until you freed him, so before that at least, it belonged to the Northern Water Tribe," Sokka corrected, making Katara calm down as she saw that she wouldn't have to argue with him over that. "Anyway, Aang doesn't know that yet, so if he is here, we can capture him and see what else the mechanist has come up with for us."
Despite understanding that they needed every advantage they could get, Katara found herself to be not very happy that the Temple was being used against Aang. She knew that it was likely he didn't even know it, but she didn't like that weapons that would be used against him were being made from a place where his people had peacefully lived. But, knowing that there wasn't much she could do about it, she just decided to ignore this thought and focused on the matter at hand. "Well, should we try to sneak up on him or something?" she asked curiously.
"No, it wouldn't do any good," Sokka shook his head as he kept his eyes forward. "The place is too populated for word not to get around. Besides, we still don't know if he's actually there or not. We'll just go about our business as usual and if he happens to be there, then we'll try to bring him in."
Deciding that this was a good plan, Katara nodded her agreement and decided to be patient as they continued to make their way up the mountain. Sokka was right, there was a chance that Aang wasn't actually there, but she still found herself to be hopeful that he would be. Smiling at the thought of seeing him again, she laid back in her seat and decided to just relax, hoping that she would see him again. Even if they inevitably would end up fighting as they tried to capture him again.
Some time later, Aang found himself training with Zuko and Azula as Teo watched. He had been making some good progress so far. He had always been something of a prodigy in airbending, and firebending didn't appear to be much different except that it was a lot more aggressive and frankly dangerous.
"Kick harder!" Zuko commanded, and Aang did as he was told and sent a strong burst of flame out toward the air in front of him. Nodding in approval, he watched as Aang began to pant and decided that it was time for Aang to take a break. "Okay, that's enough for now. Take five, Avatar."
Letting out a sigh of relief, Aang flopped to the ground and relaxed, making Zuko and Azula share a smirk as they saw how relieved he was. "Don't get too comfortable. We'll get back to training soon enough," Azula warned him, making him sigh as he saw that they were still going to push him pretty hard. He understood that this was what needed to be done, but he still couldn't help but wish he had more time to have fun.
Hearing the sound of something mechanical in the distance, the young airbender sat up and asked. "What was that?"
"Probably just something my dad's been working on," Teo answered him as he tried to put on a soothing smile. "I wouldn't worry about it."
"But I remember that sound," Aang argued as he stood up and began moving toward the direction where the sound had come from, looking over the edge of one of the platforms as he searched for the cause of the familiar sound. "It's almost like back when I was at…" He gasped suddenly as his eyes fell upon the very vehicle that the Water Tribe siblings had used to reach the Southern Air Temple. "Sokka and Katara are here?!"
Zuko and Azula, having heard these words, shared a look of surprise before running to look at what Aang was currently seeing. Finding what his eyes had found, their eyes narrowed as they saw that they had been followed. "We should leave now before we get into another fight," Zuko advised as he turned to Aang.
"But wait! It doesn't seem like they're here for me!" Aang argued as he pointed toward them, seeing that they were making their way toward the temple on a path where none of the other refugees were currently at. "They look like they're here for something else."
"Please," Azula said with a roll of her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. "What else could they possibly be here for?"
"No, I think Aang's right," Teo spoke as he moved to look at the Water Tribe siblings making their way toward the inner Temple. "That path leads to a little elevator that my dad's been working on. But why would they want to talk to him?"
Aang, finding himself curious as to what was going on, decided that he was going to find out. "I'm going to follow them."
"Not without us, you're not," Azula argued, watching as Zuko nodded in agreement. Aang smiled as he looked at his friends and nodded before leading the way toward where Sokka and Katara were headed. Before long, they managed to get close enough to watch the two stand at the base of the elevator, and after the ring of a bell, they were brought up into the temple.
Teo, not believing his eyes, couldn't help but say. "What is going on?! My dad would never work with the Water Tribes!"
"Well, there's only one way to find out for sure!" Zuko said as he gestured to a nearby window and began making his way up to it, slowly climbing up it as the others followed suit. Aang grabbed Teo's chair and gave him a boost up to the edge of the temple where they would be able to watch what was happening before coming up himself.
Peering into the window, Teo's eyes narrowed as he saw that his father was indeed talking to the Water Tribe siblings. He appeared to be showing them a new device that he had been working on. From what they could see, it appeared to be a balloon that could fly with some fire to lift it in the air without setting it on fire.
Not believing his eyes, Teo got angry and wheeled himself around the edge toward the nearby door, making Aang's eyes widen as he saw what Teo was about to do. "Teo, wait!" His words fell on deaf ears as Teo finally made it into the room and glared at his father.
"Dad, how could you do this?!" he questioned him as the others fell in behind him. "You know what the Water Tribes did to our home!"
Being horrified as he saw that his son had seen what had happened, he stepped forward and decided to explain. "Son, this isn't what I wanted." Letting out a sigh as he looked down and closed his eyes, he continued. "When we first came here, the Water Tribes were using this place as a base for their invasions into the Earth Kingdom. I saw the potential this place had for our people and made a deal with them. My inventions to aid in their war effort in exchange for our people being allowed to live here alone." Teo looked horrified as he heard this, and the Mechanist told him. "You must understand. I did this for you." Deciding that he couldn't look at his father, he turned himself away and closed his eyes, making his father close his eyes in shame as he turned to the Water Tribe siblings. "I'm sorry, this isn't a great time."
"We can come back for what you promised us," Sokka agreed easily before looking at Aang and pointing at him. "But we're not leaving here without Aang." Katara nodded her agreement, and Aang stepped forward.
"Guys, this is their home," he pleaded with them as he looked at them. "Can we please not fight here?"
Sokka, looking between Teo and his father and seeing that Aang was not only right, but that he was trying to make things easier for them, sighed a little before replying. "Fine. While we're here, we don't attack each other. The second you try to leave, it's game on, though."
Aang let out a sigh of relief and nodded, and Zuko and Azula got out of their fighting stances that Aang supposed he should have known they would be in. "Thank you," he told them both, watching as Teo finally left the room with his father staying in the room. Seeing that there was now a wedge between father and son, Aang looked at Katara and said. "Katara, I know you guys want me to go with you, but you know I can't."
"Aang, one way or another, someone's going to capture you," Katara tried to reason with him, not wanting to argue with him, but knowing that this was important. "What if someone like Gilak captures you and Sokka and I aren't around? We wouldn't be able to stop them from torturing you into trying to join us."
"They might take him away from you if you capture him anyway!" Azula sneered at the girl in front of her. "At least with us, no one's going to torture him."
"Well, not physically, anyway," Zuko said with a devious smirk at his sister, making her roll her eyes at her brother's comment.
Katara, deciding to ignore this interaction even if she couldn't help but smirk a little as she saw that she and Sokka weren't the only siblings that made fun of each other, she took on a serious look as she looked at Aang. "Aang, I know that we can't get you to switch sides, but we don't want you to get hurt. Sokka and I have agreed that as long as we have you, we won't let anyone try to torture you. If you just come with us, I promise that we won't let anything happen to you."
"Katara's right," Sokka voiced his agreement as he looked at the young airbender before him. "I'm sorry that Gilak wanted to hurt you, Aang, but we don't."
"I know," Aang acknowledged as he looked at his two Water Tribe friends. "And I'm grateful for that, but this is too important. This war needs to end with all four nations equal. Nothing good will come from the Water Tribes ruling the world."
Seeing that Aang really wasn't going to come with them willingly, Sokka sighed and decided that it was time for action rather than words. "Fine. Since we agreed not to fight while we're here, this is what we're going to do," Sokka began as he looked around them. "We're going to go get our forces and come back. You have until we get back to either change your mind or run away. If you surrender yourself, I won't require any more weapons to be made. If you run away, the Mechanist will keep working for us and continue to make weapons for the war efforts."
"And if I choose to stay and fight?" Aang asked as he looked at the young warrior, watching him take on a look of surprise that this was even a thought in Aang's head.
Deciding that he would answer him after thinking about it for a moment, he said. "If you stay, fight, and win, then we'll abandon this place and leave these people alone. No more weapons will be made for us. But I should warn you that we have a pretty good-sized army waiting down below." Aang took all of this in and nodded, and Sokka nodded as well. "You have until we get back to decide. We'll be prepared for whatever decision you make." Pausing for a moment, he then said. "Choose well." Looking at his sister, he told her. "Come on, Katara. We gotta go."
Aang, seeing that they were going, remembered the necklace that she had been missing and knew that he didn't have much time before they were gone. "Wait!" The two siblings stopped just before they reached the elevator as Aang looked at Katara. "Katara, can I talk to you for a second?"
Becoming curious since Aang had never done this before, not that she minded being able to talk to Aang, of course. Quite the contrary, even. Still, she found herself wondering what he wanted to talk about as she followed him into the other room. Once they were far enough away from the others, Aang turned to look at her as he saw the curious look on her face.
"What's wrong, Aang?"
"Well, other than that I'm going to have to fight you guys?" Aang asked, making her frown as she saw that he was right. They would have to fight soon. "But that's not what I wanted to talk about." Reaching into his pocket, he brought out something and opened his hand, making her gasp as she saw none other than her mother's necklace in the palm of his hand.
"I don't believe it! You actually found it!" she exclaimed with joy, grabbing it and putting it around her neck. Unfortunately, this meant that she would have to take off Aang's necklace, but she knew that he would be understanding. "How did you find it?"
Grinning as he saw how happy and surprised she was, he decided not to tell her the full details and, knowing that she would know that he was joking, said. "Zuko asked me to be sure I got it to you." Katara raised her brow at him for a second before realizing that he was joking, then giggled and smiled warmly at him. "Aw, that's so sweet of Zuko. Could you give him a kiss for me since I shouldn't do that in front of Sokka?" she subtly sarcastically asked.
His smile firmly in place as he saw that she had picked up on his joking, he replied. "Sure." Katara leaned over to him and placed a warm kiss on his cheek, making his face catch on fire as she pulled away and smiled at him, not noticing as he began twiddling discreetly with his thumbs as he tried not to show how happy this had made him.
Smiling at him, she found herself wanting to kiss him again but knew that she shouldn't. If not that they would be fighting each other soon, then because she knew that she couldn't reveal her feelings for him until she knew that he felt the same. Smiling at him for a few more moments, she said. "Thank you, Aang."
"No problem, Katara," he smiled back at her. He was a little sad now that she wouldn't be wearing his necklace anymore, but getting her necklace back had been well worth it. "Well, now at least you won't have to wear my necklace anymore."
"Oh, I'm still going to wear it," she told him as she took said necklace and put it around her wrist, tying it so that it wouldn't fall off before looking back at it. "It's still a beautiful gift that you gave me. I'll just wear it as a bracelet instead." Aang smiled as he heard this, seeing that she really was going to continue to wear it and that she really had liked it. Knowing that she needed to get going, she smiled again at Aang and said. "I'll see you soon, Aang."
"See you later, Katara," Aang agreed, making her smile once more at him before she finally forced herself to make her way back to Sokka, who just rolled his eyes at her since he had seen her kiss his cheek. Once the siblings were out of sight, Aang let out a pleased sigh and tried to save the memory of her kissing his cheek in his mind, making Azula smirk as she walked up to him.
"Well played, Avatar," she told him with her smirk firmly in place, making him smile sheepishly as he rubbed his neck.
"No wonder you wanted that necklace back so badly," Zuko agreed with a snicker as he walked up as well. Aang, turning to look at the Mechanist and seeing that he was deeply ashamed of himself, decided not to comment on his friend's accusations and instead moved over to talk to the man ahead of them.
"I'm sorry, young Avatar," the man apologized without looking away from his downcast position. "I never wanted to help the Water Tribes, even if that young man is particularly brilliant himself. All I did, I did for Teo. But I wish I could have found another way."
Putting a hand on his shoulder, Aang watched as the man looked at him and said. "It's like my friend Azula told me once. It doesn't matter what you did in the past. It matters what you choose to do now that matters."
Taking his words to heart, the mechanist nodded and stood up straighter as he turned to the others. "Alright. I want to help fight off the Water Tribes."
Teo, having come back just in time to hear his dad say this, smiled at his father as he saw that he had a change of heart. Aang, looking between the father and son and being glad that they would be able to make amends, nodded and put on a grateful smile. "Good. We'll need it."
Some time later, Aang, Zuko, and Azula found themselves standing in a larger room where many of the refugees were waiting to hear Aang's plan. Aang, despite being the youngest of the traveling trio, had decided to take the charge on this, knowing that this was important. He had no doubt that Zuko or Azula could handle it as well, but given their more… sarcastic and often cranky natures, he found that it might be for the best if he took the lead on this one.
"Okay, everybody. Here's the plan," Aang began as he looked around at the people and relayed the plan in his mind. "The Water Tribes are going to come at us from the ground. That means we have the advantage."
"Uh… how does that mean we have the advantage?" Zuko asked with a raised brow, making Aang smirk as he replied.
"Because we have the skies. Don't underestimate air power. Being up in the air makes it a lot harder for them to attack us, and it makes it easier for us to get the drop on them." Zuko didn't look super convinced, but shrugged as he watched Aang continue. "With our people in the sky, we can win this thing."
"We have plenty of bombs to chase the Water Tribe Warriors away," the Mechanist stepped up as he gestured to the arsenal around them. "Smoke, slime, fire and stink! The Water Tribe Warriors won't know what hit them!"
Aang grinned at the mechanist before looking back at the people in front of him. "Remember: We have the air power! That's something the Water Tribes don't! We can win this!"
"Yeah!" Everyone but Zuko and Azula shouted back in response, making Aang smile as he watched them begin to fan out as they prepared for the upcoming assault.
"Not bad, Avatar," Azula said as she and Zuko walked up to him, clearly mildly impressed at his leadership and speaking skills as he prepared them for battle. "We could have used you right before those dolts tried to attack our navy."
Deciding to ignore the insult that she had given to Sokka and Katara, Aang smiled and replied. "Thanks. So, are you guys going to fly with us?"
Sharing a look, the brother and sister duo shook their heads. "Neither of us are fans of being off the ground, though we will if we have to," Zuko answered as he looked at the young airbender. "But we'll be on the ground to hold them back from the Temple."
Understanding, Aang nodded and gave them a grateful smile. It was times like this that he was especially grateful to have his friends with him to help defend his people's home. "Alright. Let's win this!"
Not long later, the refugees and the Avatar were ready to take off into the sky. And it appeared to be just in time, as they could see the Water Tribe Warriors marching up the mountain toward them. Aang, turning to look at his fellow flyers, shouted. "Now!" Soon, the sky was filled with flyers who began aiming for the incoming Water Tribe soldiers. Bombs were let loose, and many of the warriors were dispersed, but still they continued to march on.
Despite this lack of progress in the battle, Aang knew that the battle was only just beginning. They had a lot more bombs to drop before the Water Tribe Warriors would go away. Sokka and Katara were leading the advance, but were safely inside one of the machines that the Mechanist had made for them.
"Well, it looks like we're going to have to fight," Sokka sighed as he looked at the ensuing chaos ahead of them.
"Looks like it," Katara agreed as she looked ahead of them before shrugging. "You can't blame him. These inventions the Mechanist made are impressive, but they are being used to control the other nations."
"For a good purpose!" Sokka argued, making Katara roll her eyes as she looked at her brother.
"I know, I'm just saying," she told him as she looked back out ahead of them, her eyes spying the Fire Nation royals ahead of them as she suddenly found herself itching for a fight. Looking back at her brother and seeing that he had noticed them, she said. "Sokka, stop the vehicle. It's time that we got into the fight ourselves."
Seeing the determined look on her face and knowing that she was not going to take no for an answer, Sokka let out a sigh and nodded reluctantly before stopping the machine. Before long, the two siblings had gotten out and marched their way toward the royals who had already begun fighting off their people.
While the two sets of siblings engaged in a fight, Aang was working on targeting the all-terrain vehicles where waterbenders were sending out strong attacks against their makeshift air force. Despite the waterbender's reach, they still were unable to knock anyone down and the bombers continued their work, making Aang smile as he saw that air power truly was powerful.
Gasping as he looked down and saw the two sets of siblings fighting, Aang's eyes narrowed before looking at Appa who was flying next to him. "Go back to the Temple, buddy! There's something I gotta do!" Appa let out a groan and did as he was told, and with his furry friend now out of harm's way, he dove down toward the ground and prepared himself to enter the fight.
Fighting was the last thing that he wanted to do, but he couldn't allow either set of siblings to hurt the other. So, landing in between them, he sent a burst of air at each of them and knocked them back, his face set toward Sokka and Katara who were slowly getting back up. "You guys can't win this!" he shouted to them over the sounds of war around them. "You guys need to leave! Now!"
"Not without you, Aang!" Katara answered him, using some waterbending in an attempt to freeze him in place, but he just dodged it and sent a gentle blast of air at them. While Aang helped the Fire Nation royals push the Water Tribe siblings back, the mechanist came out of the Temple with his war balloon. Teo, having seen his father come flying out toward the battlefield, flew up close to him and asked. "Dad, what are you doing?!"
"I've got a very special treat for the Water Tribes," he told his son with the beginnings of a grin before turning back to the rather large bombs his balloon was carrying. Cutting the ropes that held them, he shouted. "Bombs away!"
Soon, the incoming Water Tribe forces were covered in slime, severely slowing them down and even forcing some of them to unintentionally retreat as they were forced back down the mountain. After a few more rather large bombs were dropped, the Mechanist soon found that he was out of bombs. Teo, having noticed this as he flew by, asked his father. "Dad, what are we going to do?"
Looking around, seeing that the Water Tribe soldiers were still advancing despite all of their bombs and knowing that they did not have many left, got an idea as he looked at the mountain around them. He hadn't been hoping to do this considering that it might destroy their home, but they were out of options. Looking out over the side, he yelled. "Avatar Aang! I need your help immediately!"
Aang, hearing this, was not happy that he would be taken away from keeping the two sets of siblings from hurting each other, but knew that he didn't have much choice as he reluctantly clicked open his glider and flew his way toward the war balloon. "What's wrong?" Aang asked as he landed in the basket of the balloon.
"We're out of bombs and the Water Tribes are still advancing!" the Mechanist told him as he began taking out the source of fire that was keeping his balloon in the air. "I didn't want to tell anyone this so no one would worry, but there is a large deposit of natural gas under the mountain. I've wondered about where it's escaping, but I believe I have found it."
Aang, putting the pieces together as he realized what the Mechanist was going for, he looked at the man in disbelief as he exclaimed. "But that could blow us all up!"
"We don't have any other options!" the man told him, finally having gotten his fire source unbolted and hefting it. "Trust me, Avatar!" Deciding that this was necessary, Aang nodded and helped him get the device over the edge of the balloon. Watching it fall into the dark caverns below them, it took a few seconds but eventually a loud explosion rocked the mountainside, causing the incoming Water Tribe Warriors to begin retreating as they fled the explosion.
"It worked!" Aang exclaimed in excitement, also being relieved that they were still alive and that the Temple was still in one piece.
"But we're going down!" the Mechanist yelled as the balloon started hurtling to the ground, making Aang put on a determined look as he snapped open his glider.
"Grab on!" he commanded, waiting as the man grabbed onto his legs as he jumped off of the balloon, both struggling to stay in the air as they made their way back down to the ground. Before long, they finally reached it and arrived just in time to see that Katara and Sokka were about to retreat along with their soldiers.
Sokka, seeing their warriors retreat, sighed and looked back to Aang as he and the others surrounded the Water Tribe siblings. Turning to look at Aang, he said. "Well played, Aang. You win this one. I'll honor my word." Looking at the Mechanist, he said. "You're absolved of our agreement. You and your people can stay here as long as Aang allows it. The Temple does belong to him after all."
Katara would have smiled at this, but unfortunately she was not happy as she knew that she would be forced to separate from Aang. Despite the fact that she knew that they could try to take him anyway, they were outnumbered and she knew that they would have to try again another day. Watching Aang nod to Sokka, she made sure his attention was on her as she gave him a warm smile before saying. "We'll see you later, Aang."
Smiling as he heard this, Aang replied. "See you later, Katara. And Sokka." The two siblings giving them a wave, they began running back towards their retreating people, though Katara snuck a quick look back at Aang which he noticed, making him smile as he watched her go. Finding himself looking forward to the next time they met, he became surprised as he watched one of the last retreating soldiers drop what appeared to be a scroll.
Finding himself curious, he ran after them and yelled. "Hey! You guys dropped something!" He was met with no response, and seeing that they really weren't coming back for it, decided to pick it up. Looking at the scroll, he found himself curious to see what was on it and was about to open it up when he heard the sound of his friends walking to him.
"Avatar! We should get back to the Temple!" Zuko called out as he walked up to his friend. "Everyone's gathering there for a speech."
Although Aang found himself really wanting to read the scroll, he decided that it could wait until after the speech, and so slipped it into his pocket as he turned to his friend with a nod. "Okay, let's go!" Not long later, the three friends found themselves standing in the main courtyard of the Temple where the rest of the refugees were currently standing in a circle, facing Aang as he soon realized that he was supposed to give the speech. Laughing nervously since he hadn't realized that he would be the one giving the speech, even though he had been the one who had led the charge, he forced himself to focus and looked around at all of them as he said.
"Today's victory belongs to you guys! With your help and with the power of the air, we pushed them back and kept this place safe. You guys have all you need now to make this place your home!" Pausing for a moment, he then continued. "I admit, when I first came here, I wasn't very happy about all the changes that have been made. But seeing you all work together and push back the Water Tribes has changed my mind. You guys found this empty place and made it your home, and I'm glad that someone gets to enjoy this place as much as my people and I did."
The refugees smiled as they heard this, and Teo and the Machinist came up to talk to him as he stepped down from the fountain he had been on to address the people. "Thank you, Avatar Aang, for helping us defend our home," Teo told him with a grateful smile.
"And thank you for helping me redeem myself," Teo's father added, making Aang smile as he looked at them both.
"You're welcome," he answered them, and watched as the crowd around them began to cheer and celebrate their victory. Zuko and Azula, having watched all of this, walked up to him and couldn't hide the impressed looks on their faces. Even Azula, which was a rare thing from her.
"I guess you were right, Avatar," Zuko told him as he put a hand on his shoulder. "Air power really is a force to be reckoned with. With it, we'll have the Water Tribes on the run."
Grinning as he heard this, he replied. "Oh yeah. The Water Tribes won't know what hit them." Azula, having noticed the scroll in his pocket, took on a curious look as she asked.
"What is that, Avatar?"
Aang, following her gaze and seeing the scroll in his pocket, realization came over him as he pulled it out and looked back at his friends. "It's a scroll one of the Water Tribe soldiers dropped when they were retreating," he explained.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Azula asked with a raised brow. "That might be important information we can use against them."
Despite not liking the idea of striking back against them, mostly because of Katara and Sokka, he nodded and opened the scroll, his eyes traveling over the lines as they widened with each passing sentence. "It's a letter… for me." The siblings' eyes widened as they shared a look of shock before looking back at the young airbender who had just finished reading as he looked at his friends. "It's from Master Pakku of the Northern Water Tribe. It says that he wants to teach me waterbending."
Responses to reviews:
ATLATO: Wow, thanks! I'm glad that you like it so much. Hope you continue to like it.
Aartman7141999: As you can see, I decided to skip over this story's version of Bato, but if I had been to write it, I probably would have done either Zhao or General Bujing. I'm leaning more toward Bujing because he was more understanding when he found out about how Zuko got his scar as opposed to Zhao who literally enjoyed watching Zuko get burned, but yeah.
Ashley Barbosa: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.