Everyone was ready on the temple terrace. They were only waiting for the signal from the girl placed by the telescope in the Mechanist's office.
Zuko couldn't stand the thought of the coming fight. It was clear to him that his people needed to be stopped, but he couldn't bring himself to join the defenders. Perhaps these soldiers deserved everything that was coming to them. Perhaps not... To make things worse, he couldn't stop thinking about the Minister's words.
"There is nothing else I can do to stop it. He was right. If I was Azula he would probably listen right away... Heck, if I wasn't the damn traitor he may have even listened to me!" he thought as he was pacing back and forth "And he said that father doesn't mind it... So should I actually be trying to stop it?"
Suddenly, he heard hurried footsteps. He looked in their direction and noticed a running girl.
"Hurry, they're coming!" she shouted to him quickly without stopping, and suddenly his train of thoughts went silent. He didn't even realize when his feet carried him to the terrace where the Avatar was about to lead a group of defenders on gliders into the air. He bolted towards them, reaching the kid right as he was about to take off.
"Aang! I know they need to be stopped, but could you please spare them? They're just following orders. It's not their fault."
The kid looked at him with wide eyes "I... We're not going to kill them! That was not part of the plan!"
It didn't really serve to calm Zuko down "Alright, but... Just remember you're fighting people who wouldn't survive a fall from heights."
"Of course I-" Aang was indignant at first, but he hesitated "I know that..."
"Come on, Aang! We gotta go!" Teo rushed him, and the airbender nodded, giving Zuko one last look before he jumped off the ledge.
The prince watched as they soared through the air and disappeared in the clouds. For a while he couldn't tell what was happening, all he saw was how they would reemerge once every while, only to dive down again quickly. He couldn't stand not knowing what was going on, but it was too late to change his mind as all the gliders were already taken.
Suddenly he realized that there was yet one more flying unit that didn't take off, and he sprinted back into the temple.
There wasn't really time to exchange the words in the air, for the line of soldiers climbing the mountain seemed not to have an end. They made good use of bombs they had prepared; even though mostly they weren't even harmful, which Aang noticed with great relief. But they did slow down the attackers, who stopped advancing, disoriented with sudden counterattack. There was a moment when a few soldiers has slipped from the cliff, after it was hit with a smoke bomb, but fortunately they only fell on a lower part of the path.
The others however continued on, and Aang saw the opportunity as they reached another segment of the mountain. He used one of his best tricks, launching his glider in the air, and jumping on an air scooter himself. As he rode over the cliff, the snow was pushed off it, falling down in a small avalanche, burying some of the soldiers, and blocking the path for others. Then he leaped back onto his glider, satisfied with the result.
Katara was the only one on Appa, and the saddle was filled with bombs which she would hold high in the air so that others could pick them up without stopping. She was stationed by the cliff just above the layer of clouds, so she couldn't actually see how they were doing - but it was safer that way, because the soldiers couldn't see them either. Or so they assumed as they were putting the plan together, but suddenly a few chains bolted through the air right next to them, and she gave a terrified scream. Fortunately Appa has immediately decided to flee from the unknown threat, as she wasn't holding the reins to guide him away.
It seemed they had avoided the danger, but soon she realized that it wasn't even an attack - the chains had harpoons at the end that stuck into the rock. It turned out they came out of tanks, which were now going up on chains.
"Is this thing ready to fly?"
Sokka was in the middle of a conversation with Mechanist, when he noticed they had company.
"Zuko? What do you want here?" he asked sceptically "Cause if you came to meddle-"
"Take me with you! There's plenty of space on that thing, I can see that."
It didn't really convince the young inventor, and he folded his arms.
"What for? I thought you didn't want to take part in this fight."
"I-" Zuko hesitated "I don't. I just want to see the battlefield."
"Balloon is not ready to fly yet." Mechanist said with a worry "The air is heating up slower than I accounted for."
"How long?" both boys asked simultaneously, giving each other a dirty look as they realized it.
"It should be ready in a few minutes."
"Alright." Sokka said with a sour face "But if you try anything when we're in the air, I swear I will throw you out of the balloon. Get it?"
The tanks were annoyingly sturdy, just as Mechanist had warned them. What was a great help was that not all of them have even reached the top of the mountain. A few have stopped moving on their way up, and they were just dangling awkwardly on their chains, their crews just shouting something hopelessly to the nearby troops who were unable to help them.
Others have reached the top however, and Katara knew it was her cue to join the fight. She gave Aang a nod as he flew next to her, and together they got on the ground to face the upcoming threat.
Other defenders were still in the air, and they supported them, dropping bombs to slow and distract the attackers. It made fighting easier for the waterbending duo, who had to withstand the blasts not only from firebenders inside tanks, but also troops that had reached the mountaintop by this time.
Aang has tried using airbending on instinct as well, but it only gave them a chance to see what was the counterbalancing system that Mechanist had talked about. Neat thing that would flip the cabin with soldiers right back in case the tank was toppled over - which would most likely happen when they were put in fight against earthbenders.
However waterbending seemed to be really effective. Katara found it easiest to just freeze the water inside the tanks' mechanism, which was causing them to dismount completely. It caused the attackers to focus on them entirely as soon as they realized how big of a threat these two children were.
It brought them back to defensive, and soon Aang was forced to take Katara on his glider and flee before they were completely overwhelmed by outnumbering forces. From the air they had the chance to see the damage they did - most of the tanks were either dismantled or disabled by what they assumed was Zuko's earlier sabotage. But even without the tanks there were still many soldiers advancing, and Aang couldn't help wondering if that was what Air Nomads had seen here a hundred years ago.
"We're out of bombs!" Teo notified them as soon as they landed on the temple terrace.
Katara looked at the troops with growing dread, and mumbled absently "Come on, Sokka... Where's that balloon?"
As if on cue, a mighty invention has proudly emerged from the temple. It bore Fire Nation insignia, and however stunned the soldiers were by its appearance, they didn't attack it, assuming it was part of their army. Sokka smiled wickedly as he realized it, proud of his plan. Zuko didn't pay it much attention as he took in the battlefield. He actually feared that he'd see bodies around, but this sight was disturbing in a whole different way.
All the defenders have fallen back, while Fire Nation soldiers were still approaching. Tanks' debris were lying all around in the snow, but it didn't seem to stop them - their target seemed to be already within reach after all. But they were left open to attack which they didn't know was coming.
The moment the balloon found itselves above the attackers, Sokka cut the line and dropped the first bomb. It fell with a large splash, sending slime all around. Panic broke out among the soldiers, but it was too late. A few more bombs followed, and their combined range was more than enough for all the remaining attacking force.
Soldiers who didn't have any protection got immobilized by the sticky substance, the only things that were still able to move were two tanks. However the soldiers inside were actually quite clever men. They were the only ones who realized that the valves in their engines were tightened when they noticed the first signs of pressure rise. And now it was enough for them to exchange looks with the other crew to come to reality. This battle was lost. They turned the engines off and slowly got out of the tanks with their hands raised.
Zuko couldn't believe his eyes. To win a battle in such a bloodless way was actually a genius plan he never expected from the Water Tribe warrior. He was always told that they were ruthless barbarians, although the last days he had spent with the siblings have already made him a bit doubtful about this.
"Yeah! We actually did it!" Sokka rejoiced, oblivious to the prince's astonished gaze. But he did turn in his direction with a grin, and Zuko couldn't help himself a small smile of relief. He averted his face quickly so the other teen didn't notice, suddenly finding himself face to face with Mechanist instead.
"We really did it." the man said, giving a laugh himself. He moved a little and put his hands on both boys' shoulders, looking proudly at the battle result "I can't believe it's over."
The words have clicked in his head and Zuko's smile faded, as he looked towards the pass. "No. It's not over yet."
Landing the balloon again in the temple was a tad harder than they anticipated, especially without any experience in steering flying balloons. Finally, with Aang's help they managed to put in back on the ground on the main terrace.
Everyone in the welcoming crowd was in celebrating mood until Sokka broke down to them what Zuko explained as they flew. It wasn't over until they dealt with Qin, or he would just send another attack over time. And this was something they had to do right away, considering that the slime won't be able to hold the soldiers forever.
And so Gaang was gathered on Appa again, after reassuring Teo and his father that they will finish this matter. Aang was leading the path he remembered from earlier, and it didn't take long before they were back at the war camp Zuko had 'visited' earlier. It was almost empty except for a few guards standing around a lone tent. They were quickly dealt with, thanks to Katara who froze them in place.
The noise alarmed Qin right away and he barged out of the tent, only to be faced with an angry air bison and a group of teenagers, from which he immediately recognized the Avatar and prince Zuko. His mind raced - did it mean they defeated all his soldiers and tanks? Or perhaps they were losing, and they left the battlefield to win by taking him out while he was unprotected? In this moment he regretted not going into the battle himself, but he was no fighter, he was an inventor, and-
"War Minister Qin, we have defended the Northern Air Temple. It's time to consider a peaceful resolution." Aang spoke, his voice carried the determination he had to resolve this without anyone getting hurt. Sokka was actually considering a more drastic approach on the way, but Zuko advised him to try to negotiate, as the temple would be met with a big repercussions if they finished off a War Minister.
"I can't believe you're saying something like that so casually, guys! " Aang outraged.
"I'm just saying, it's also a reasonable option." Zuko defended, though he also wasn't actually comfortable with it.
"And this time I exceptionally agree with-" Sokka started, but the prince quickly cut him off:
"But as I said, it's not the best option here. It would bring this temple to Fire Lord's attention. And... I honestly don't think he's aware of what's going on here."
"What do you mean?" Katara asked sceptically "You think he didn't order this attack?"
"Of course he didn't, there was barely enough time to let him know about it. But that's the point!" Zuko responded "This is a decision that Qin should at least consult with the Fire Lord before he launched the attack, considering how big of an asset the Mechanist is."
Gaang looked at him doubtfully, but Sokka was the first to catch on "So you're saying that Qin arbitrarily ordered the attack without informing your daddy? Could he get in trouble for this?"
Zuko glared at him at the remark of his father, but he answered grimly "He very much could."
Qin's eyes were cold, unyielding. "You know the Fire Lord's ambition knows no bounds. There can be no peace."
Zuko stepped forward. "Minister, I implored you to reconsider this attack before. You really should consider this offer now."
Qin dismissed Zuko with a sneer. "And you dare to come here again, traitor. You didn't have enough yet?"
Before Aang could respond, Sokka stepped forward, his tone sharp and cunning. "Minister Qin, let's be frank. This defeat doesn't really look good for you. Imagine if word got out that the great War Minister's forces were bested by a group of kids and a traitor. In the battle that no one even knew was coming..."
Qin's facade cracked, the threat to his position clear. "And what do you propose?"
Aang resumed, seizing the opening Sokka had created. "A ceasefire. You stop all military action here, and we ensure the silence of today's events."
Qin pondered, the gears turning. The offer was tempting—a way to salvage his standing and continue his work without further risk. But admitting defeat to a group of children was degrading in itself.
"That's only a good offer if somone actually believed you. But Fire Lord knows my merits and he'd value my word above anything that enemies or traitors might say."
"You may have been a loyal servant of the crown for years, but you started to act behind the Fire Lord's back. Why?" Zuko challenged him resentfully, and Qin smirked. He was about to respond, but Sokka was faster.
"That's because you didn't!" the warrior yelled with sudden realization "You didn't even tell the Fire Lord about Mechanist, did you? That's why you didn't inform him that Mechanist broke the deal, and you just went for attack to get rid of evidence!"
The prince stared at Sokka in disbelief at first, but then one look at Qin's pale face confirmed it all. He took a step forward, trying to recollect his memories.
"So all those ship improvements, ballistas, these tanks... These achievements have earned you the rank of Minister by my Father's side. How much of these were Mechanist's work that you claimed as your own?" He asked with strained voice, feeling his fists tighten.
"Shut up!" Qin snapped "They are my inventions, this Dirt Kingdom peasant merely gave a few insights!"
"I think he would say otherwise. If someone actually looked it up closer..." Sokka commented smugly.
Qin's eyes lit up with impotent rage "You..."
"The offer still stands." Aang said firmly, silencing him.
Never did Qin think that he will be crushed so badly. He said that the Fire Lord would believe him rather than anyone, but the truth is Ozai didn't tolerate hiding anything from him. If all of this had reached his ears, Qin's career might not be the only thing he lost. His mouth felt completely dry, and he cleared his throat before speaking "And if I agree, how can I trust you'll keep your end of the bargain?"
Aang's face lightened a little, and he put his hand on his chest "I'll give you my Avatar promise - we won't speak about any of this.
Qin's eyes closed for a moment, as if he had to brace himself physically before stepping towards the kid "Very well. We have an agreement. But remember, if you break this truce, the consequences will be severe."
Aang nodded, understanding the gravity of the promise. "Then it's settled. The Northern Air Temple is off-limits, and your work will continue elsewhere. Peace, for now."
Qin couldn't help an ironic snicker "Peace..."
"Why do I feel like it wasn't actually a good outcome?" Katara wondered as they were flying back to the temple.
"Because it wasn't. But it was probably the best possible compromise." Zuko commented grimly.
He's been staring at Aang in thought ever since they finished striking the truce. Eventually he looked away and said quietly "If you pass this information to Fire Lord somehow, Qin won't get away with it. He probably wouldn't have enough time to leash at the temple if no one had warned him."
"Why are you telling me this?" Aang asked, furrowed his brows in confusion "I just said we won't-"
"And since when do you keep your word? He deserves it. He's lying to the Fire Lord's face." the prince said angrily.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean, huh? I get that this guy might have pissed you off, but you're going to take it out on Aang again?" Sokka stepped in.
"Take it out?" Zuko snorted humorlessly "Probably everyone would be better off if you got rid of the Fire Nation War Minister, won't you agree? And since it's not below Avatar to go for breaking his word, then-"
"What are you talking about?" Aang asked, it was evident that these words hurt him.
"Exactly. You can't just go saying things like that" Katara added, also upset on her friend's behalf.
"You're really going to deny?" the prince was getting agitated as well "The very first day we met, you said you'll come with me if I left the Southern Water Tribe alone. I did keep my end of the bargain, and you broke yours as soon as we sailed off. It would have been within my honor to go back there and wreak havoc, since the deal was off, but I guess you didn't really care about it."
"It's not like that! I knew you'd come after me, not after them..." Aang started to squirm uncomfortably, but Zuko in turn froze as he heard this.
"So- You just assumed it's alright to give me a promise you were never going to honor, because you could take advantage of my priorities and get away with it...?" Zuko said dangerously quietly.
Katara and Sokka shifted nervously in place, glancing between them. They also didn't feel that comfortable with these events told from the other side's perspective; especially Sokka winced thinking about a value of warrior's word, but Katara started weakly "But he's the Avatar, he couldn't just disappear again after-"
"Exactly." Zuko hissed, cutting her off "He's the Avatar, going around and giving people his Avatar promise that means shit. You just proved my point."
Aang winced as the prince mockingly emphasized the words that he had used to gain Qin's trust.
"I... come on, I didn't mean I wasn't going to keep that promise I made to you... But, I didn't say for how long I'll go with you, you know?" he tried to make a light joke, but was immediately met with a glare.
"Yeah, very funny. Go on, look for more loopholes. But if you're going to wriggle out of your promises, then at least be honest with yourself about it. If you're alright with being shameless, of course."
They were all quiet for a while more, until Aang eventually said quietly "We will not inform on Qin."
The sour faces that Gaang wore have freaked out the people from the temple, but they quickly calmed down after hearing that the War Minister was no longer a problem. It felt like some kind of celebration would be in place, but no one really felt like throwing parties or anything. It was already dawning too, and there wouldn't be enough time for preparations before the nightfall. Sokka also argued there was no point in prolonging their stay there just for this purpose, so they settled on a simple dinner, since they hadn't even had a proper meal for most of the day. It only made sense to stay for the night before starting the last part of the journey, so it was the best solution.
The terrace felt like a proper place to hold such a celebration meal, however small it was, and they gathered there in one place. A few women had gone to the kitchen right away, and soon outraged screams about blood on the floor could be heard, to which Zuko cringed slightly with embarrassment. He moved a little further to the edge of the terrace, rubbing his still hurting arm absently as he went, and noticed that the soldiers had mostly dealt with the slime. New orders must have reached them already, because they were heading towards the pass, giving only a few confused glances in the temple's direction.
This really has ended better than he expected, but all these events left him drained. The thought of the events awaiting him did not comfort him much either; he had no idea what to expect from the Northern Water Tribe, but his guts were telling him that it wasn't going to be a nice vacation.
"I still have to get my firebending back... This, source as Uncle called it. And there is also this healing thing... I didn't even think it was possible, and yet I'm a walking proof it is. Perhaps that's what Uncle meant when he said that fire is life; maybe he wanted to teach it to me when he deemed me ready? I'm going to really surprise him when-" he dared not to finish this thought. He just turned in the direction of the setting sun, and closed his eyes for a silent prayer "Agni, let him be alright."
"What are you doing just now...?"
A grumpy question reached Iroh's ears, but he didn't bother to turn away as he looked at the sunset from the back of the cart. Just for a moment there he felt lighter on his heart, and he allowed himself a warm smile. "I'm enjoying the last rays of Agni's blessing of course. Care to join me?"
Jeong Jeong snorted mockingly, watching him lazily as he was lying leaned against the wall of the cart. "You better look from the front and tell me if we're getting any closer to the city."
"You heard miss Jian say the journey would take a few days. Impatience won't do you any good."
The Deserter only sighed, knowing fully well that his friend was right. They were incredibly lucky anyway, to have encountered a merchant desperate enough to give them a ride in exchange for coin, despite Iroh's obvious Fire-Nation attire. It annoyed him that Iroh seemed to actually enjoy his grumbling, and he didn't want to give him any more satisfaction, so he just closed his eyes, settling for the night.
Iroh's smile faded a little and he closed his eyes as well, still feeling the warmth on his eyelids, whispering into the evening. "Stay safe, Zuko."
The rest of the Gaang have settled just for their own company, seeing that Zuko decided not to join them this time. The dinner was served soon - a simple vegetable stew, yet it tasted delicious. Watching all the people there in the temple, simply enjoying themselves filled Aang with peace.
"You know what? I'm actually glad you guys all live here now. I may not like every change you did, but you really earned this right. It's like these hermit crabs that live here, you found this empty shell and made it your home. And now you protect each other. You gave this temple a new life." he said with a smile to Mechanist who was sitting there next to his son.
"Thanks. It really means a lot, coming from you." Teo responded.
Mechanist scratched his head sheepishly "I know I should have taken it in consideration much earlier, but I promise we'll take a better care of the original temple. Although we still need that bathhouse, I think that the interior can be adapted well enough." he added with a wink "Would that be ok?"
Aang grinned even wider "Sure! Thank you. It's really all I could ask for."
"Aang, you were right about air power." Sokka suddenly said with surprising seriousness. His friend gave him a confused look, and he couldn't hold an excited smile any longer "As long as we've got the skies, we'll have Fire Nation on the run!"
"It really turned the tides there" Mechanist said thoughtfully as he looked at the balloon. It deflated a little, since no one added any fuel to the furnace, but he'll have to move it somewhere later.
"I have been working for the Fire Nation for so many years. I hope there will still be a chance for me to redeem myself and do something actually good."
Katara gave him a symphatetic look "I'm sure you'll do much good now that you don't have to worry about Qin anymore."
He looked at the ground, troubled "Actually... This man is really dangerous on his own as well. I remember he ordered me to work on schemes for a really big machine some time ago. The fact that he didn't come back to me on it could mean he finished it on his own, like he did it with tanks."
Sokka gave him a worried look "What do you mean by 'big'?"
"I'm not sure how big it would end up being, but it was a machine designed like a drill of a big scale, a very powerful one. I can't even imagine where he would want to use it, but it will sure cause a lot of damage if he actually builds it."
It unsettled Aang as well "So does it also have a weakness we could use, perhaps...?"
"I think... I can think of at least a few. I'll look for schemes, they should be somewhere in the workshop." the man excused himself and went straight inside the temple.
The urgency seemed a little worrying, but Gaang's mood didn't stay low for a long. They were facing dangers all the time, and if they were about to encounter this one that Mechanist warned them about, at least they'd be ready.