The bigger ship was already docking by the Wani, and the person currently boarding their deck was none other than Captain Iwai.

"What a surprise we meet here, lieutenant!" he called with a false smile "But if my memory serves me right, it's not the location you reported, is it?"

"Right, it's not. General Iroh received another hawk message on the way, which caused us to change course. There was no time to notify about it." Jee answered stiffly, unnerved by the captain's calm demeanor.

"So where is the Dragon of the West now?"

There was a hint of mockery in the captain's tone, and Jee had to control himself really well. "He went to meet with his contact, so as you can see, we can't send any more people there without scaring him off. He's an Earth Kingdom citizen. We have the situation under control, sir, so you can continue on your patrol-"

"Ah, but it's not a patrol that brings me here." Iwai answered with a smile, sending shivers down Jee's spine "Admiral Zhao requested support at the Hei Gua's mouth. What a coincidence, am I right? It seems that you can join the operation. As well as the former general Iroh once he returns, naturally."

Breaking through the fire barrage wasn't hard for the two firebending masters, once they didn't have to worry about anyone else. Zhao didn't expect they would ignore him and charge at the group of soldiers, so he raced after them. However, the old men hardly met resistance there and they quickly reached the riverbank, setting the boats on fire - all except the one they have boarded right after.

Once the admiral reached them, they had already sailed away, unbothered by the fire missiles he sent after them. He roared in helpless fury, and the soldiers didn't dare to make a sound.

All this outnumbering, this ambush, and a successful one at that, was all for nothing. They made a fool out of him. Again. But the Fire Lord was going to learn about it, and at the very least he would make Iroh regret it. That thought actually calmed him down a little and he grimly took in the burned river boats. He remembered the scouting boat he saw earlier, that gave him the ambush idea in the first place. Iroh's ship was likely waiting by the river mouth, and if Iwai was as useful as he deemed him, he would be close as well. He wasn't done with those old geezers yet.

Meanwhile, the two masters were sailing further, with Iroh at the steering wheel. Jeong Jeong leaned against the helm cabin.

They were silent for a moment, but at last the Deserter asked quietly, "Are you sure you did the right thing? Leaving that boy of yours with those kids?"

"It was for the best." Iroh responded silently. His voice was calm, but truthfully he was still worried. If he took Zuko with them, then at least he could protect him. And if his nephew couldn't discover the true source of firebending on his own, then he might be in trouble.

"Alright. So, now what?" Jeong Jeong asked snarkily, crossing his arms. "We're going to your ship and then?

"It would be best to scout out what Zhao is up to, but now my cover is blown."

"You don't say."

Iroh ignored the sarcastic comment, and continued "So I'm thinking either Bumi or Pakku will have to host us."

"What? No!" the Deserter protested loudly, turning to look at Iroh again. "You want to drag me right back into that damned war! And all I wanted was to be left alone!"

"You know you can't hide forever." Iroh retorted, ignoring the scoff he received after it "Besides, you're a part of the Order just like us. If there's a right time to act, it's now."

"Yeah, yeah. But-" Jeong Jeong was about to say something more, but he had to grab the railing really fast, as the boat suddenly made a sharp turn.

"What are you doing?!"

"Something's wrong." Iroh silenced him, motioning for him to get inside the cabin. "There is another ship."

The Deserter tried to see what he was talking about, but the mouth of the river was no longer visible from where their boat was. He asked quickly "Zhao's men?"

"All the ships in the area are under his command. I'm afraid Wani is no longer an option."

Jeong Jeong sighed "So, a walk then?"

"You mean all the people who live there are actually from the Earth Kingdom...?" Aang asked, unable to hide his disappointment.

"Yes, that's exactly what I said." Zuko was already regretting that he started the topic, as it seemed he was doomed to answer hundreds of Avatar's questions.

"But how did they get there? Air temples are quite hard to reach-"

"Well, quite hard, but not impossible. I went there myself" the prince answered "They-"

"Wait, you've really been to all four Air Temples?" Sokka interjected, curious.

"I was looking for an airbender! Where else would I start?" the prince barked back.

"I mean, yeah, it sounds logical. But like you said, they look really hard to reach. You know, when you don't have sky bison. At least the Southern Air Temple felt that way..." the other teenager wondered aloud.

Zuko finally figured out what he meant, and he admitted "Yeah... The others are like that too. Especially the Eastern Temple."

It brought him memories of himself wandering around the four Air Temples, searching for any clue about the Avatar that hadn't yet been destroyed by war or time...

"But why would they choose such place to live when they don't have sky bisons? Or do they...?" Aang suspended his question, with an expecting half-smile.

"No, they don't have bison." Zuko answered tiredly. "At least I didn't see any. And I have no idea why they chose it in the first place, but they adapted quite well."

He noticed that Aang was about to ask another question, so he added quickly, "Can we finish this topic already? You will soon see it for yourself."

As if to show that he was done with the conversation, he reached for his swords, which still lay in the saddle, to put them back in their rightful place in scabbard.

"I know, but-" Aang started to whine, but he didn't have a chance to finish.

"Right, you got your swords back?" Sokka asked enthusiastically. It was hard to hide the fact that he was fascinated by weapons.

Zuko spared him a look, grateful for the change of topic. "My Uncle brought them. They will come in handy."

"Sure. As long as you know how to use them." the Water Tribe warrior commented nonchalantly, trying to hide his envy.

"Don't you worry about that."

"Are you sure? I've heard benders usually don't learn how to handle weapons." Sokka continued, growing more confident in his point "And I've never actually seen you with swords before."

This interrogation was starting to get on Zuko's nerves. "Yeah, no kidding. That's precisely why you didn't see me with them! Benders are not supposed to learn the blade, so nobody knew that I did. Not even my crew. Only my Uncle knew, because he had arranged these lessons for me. Besides, didn't Aang tell you what happened in Pohuai Stronghold?" he asked, giving the airbender a questioning look.

Aang was still a little bit upset about Zuko not wanting to talk about the Air Temple, but he nodded reluctantly, "Yeah, Zuko fought there with just his swords. He's really good."

Sokka recognized he was beaten in this discussion, so he turned away. Katara, on the other hand, leaned closer with curiosity.

"But why did you learn it if you're not supposed to?"

The prince sighed. It wasn't something he was keen on sharing. "I... Let's just say I'm not the best firebender, so my Uncle tried to find another way for me to fight. It turned out the swords came to me naturally."

He shuddered suddenly, realizing that the air has gotten colder. Out of habit, he tried using his breath of fire, but none came out. He blinked in surprise, and then almost slapped his forehead as he remembered he still couldn't firebend. It took him back to when Iroh first showed him the technique.

It was after they visited the Eastern Air Temple and a shack that Avatar Yangchen has built near it. They haven't found a single trace of the Avatar, just some old man who called himself Pathik. He gave Zuko some odd prophecy about his fate being entwined with Avatar's, but to the prince it felt like a cruel joke.

That place was the last of big tracks he had, and on the way back Zuko started to question his mission, while shuddering with coldness in the mountains with the air so thin it made it hard to breathe.

That was when Iroh told him about his own struggle after Lu Ten's death, and gave him courage not to give up on finding his way.

"I think perhaps it's the time I teach you about the breath of fire, Nephew." he said with a warm smile

"The what?"

"I invented it myself when I was still a colonel, serving my first winter on the front. It is based on the teachings of the ancient Sun Warriors. They were the original firebenders from a time before we became disconnected from the source of our power. Focus on your breath now, please."

It actually caught Zuko's interest and he complied without a word.

"Fire is a weapon, but also a life-giving warmth of the sun. The warmth that burns inside every heart. By concentrating on that inner fire, you can control it." Iroh continued, and as he said it, a flames puffed from his mouth. He then urged the boy to join him, while he explained:

"Stroke the flames and warm yourself from within, chasing away any chill of the air... or the spirit."

It was an odd feeling to try something like that, but after a moment he felt something shifting inside him, like a twitching flame. He breathed out and some smoke went out of his mouth. What astonished him was that he actually felt warmer after that.

Then Iroh put his arm around Zuko's shoulder and gave a smile filled with so much pride, that the prince couldn't help but respond with a smile of his own. It was one of those moments when he actually felt he still had family.

"That's right, Uncle has already mentioned something like that about the fire once, but I didn't really-"

"Is something wrong? " Katara asked, noticing his odd behaviour.

Zuko looked up to see a worried look on her face. It confused him a little, but he answered "No. I just noticed it's just getting colder."

He looked around in search of the bag of clothes he received at the abbey, and retrieved a warm coat, which he put on. It was beige brown and didn't have fur lining like Water Tribes coats, but it was better than nothing.

"Huh. It's not that cold yet... Is it also a firebender thing?" Katara wondered.

He gave it a thought for a moment "I'm not sure... In the Fire Nation the climate is very warm, even in winters we don't often don't have snow, except for the mountains. But... Cold can be dangerous for firebenders. Excessive cooling of the body can render them unable to bend for days."

He bit his tongue as he realized he just gave away a major weakness of benders from his nation, so he added quickly "But, it would have to be for a long time, so it rarely happens."

It was too late however, because the information already picked Sokka's interest. "But you were on the South Pole with your crew, and you were all bending just fine. Was it not cold enough?"

The prince had already cursed the boy's curiosity in his thoughts, but he answered, "There are ways to stay warm in cold weather. You two should know it best."

The siblings shrugged, as it was obvious to them. They may have higher cold tolerance, but there was nothing better than a warm fur and the warmth of a bonfire.

They have reached the Taihua Mountains by the time it was getting dark. The snow was all-present here ane even the siblings had already taken a toll on the cold, as they too had already put on their fur coats - only Aang didn't feel any need for additional layers of clothing due to airbending heat regulation. Still, they decided it was a good idea to find a nice spot to land for the night before flying to the temple. Not much later Aang noticed a small camp, where a few people were already sitting by the fire.

Zuko tried to protest, reasoning that a group of travellers was bound to talk about them the moment they reached any settlement from now on, but the group discarded his worries right away. They claimed they would be far away by that time, and Aang added that it wouldn't hurt to spread the word about Avatar's return.

"So that's literally why it was possible to track them. They didn't care about hiding their presence. If they were actually trying to hide, I would have really been in trouble, considering the speed of this bison..." the prince wondered as they landed by the camp and started to greet the strangers.

If these people were surprised by the arrival of the group of children on the unknown flying animal, they didn't show it, as they simply invited them to join them. They were gathered around the wandering storyteller who was apparently about to begin another story, so they joined the rest of the audience quietly.

He told a story about flying people, which obviously resembled Gaang of airbenders, to the point that Aang wanted to ask about it directly.

After the man finished collecting donations, the Avatar approached him, saying "It means a lot to hear airbender stories. It must have been a hundread years ago your great-grandpa met them."

Surprisingly, the man sprung up, as if he was offended "What are you prattling about, child? He met the air walkers just last week!"

It shocked Aang, and he immediately spun on his feet and ran back to his group, stopping directly in front of the firebender.

"This man said that his great-grandpa saw airbenders last week! And you said there weren't any at the temple!" he said with accusatory tone.

"This doesn't sound likely. Can you be sure he actually saw what he claims?" Zuko responded sceptically.

"He said he saw air walkers. How would he come up with something like that on his own?"

"Well, that part sounds made up. These people from the temple fly on gliders, not walk on air..."

There was a moment of stunned silence, but after that Aang bursted:

"You didn's say they can fly at all!"

Firebender's cheeks burned red as he realized he might not have expressed himself properly earlier and he hissed "Keep it down, someone could hear you. That's what I meant earlier; they adapted well to the temple and they fly on gliders. Okay?"

The kid shook his head in disbelief, but still accepted such an explanation. He turned away in thoughts, asking quietly no one in particular "But could they really fly without airbending...?"

The evening in harbour felt surreal for Wani's crew. Everyone kept exchanging unsettled glances, as if unsure whether they actually could allow themselves to fall asleep there.

They have received new orders from Zhao to join the rest of the ships and await orders, but they couldn't stop thinking that it was only a matter of time before they will be faced with treason charges. It would only make sense after this afternoon's events, when a sole riverboat suddenly showed up racing in their direction; and close behind it a Wani's scouting unit emerged from around a bend in the river - but it was managed by Zhao instead of Iroh. He started to shoot fire missiles at the other boat as soon as it was in his range, and to Wani's crew horror, Iwai's ship joined the attack immediately. Fortunately it turned out there was no one on the burned boat. However they were far from relief when they learned what happened at Hei Gua, at least according to Zhao.

Jee wasn't sure why, but Zhao agreed with Iwai that the Wani crew had no part in the betrayal and Iroh acted alone. After that they were simply incorporated into the fleet, as if nothing had happened. There was nothing they could do, and they couldn't help but feel like pawns on the board. A Pai Sho board... Jee kept wondering what he was supposed to say to the other members of the Order of White Lotus. That Grand Lotus was gone?

He went outside to catch his breath, as he couldn't sleep. He wandered to the harbour's pier, giving silent nods to the guards on the way. There, he eventually felt his mind ease a little. If Iroh wasn't on the boat when it was destroyed, then he probably managed to get away. Actually, he might even send some orders for them, knowing him. Though it wouldn't be easy now, as a messenger hawk to any of the crew would be immediately intercepted before they could retrieve the message. Come to think of it, Lieutenant remembered Iroh expressing concern about the fleet Zhao was gathering.

Trying to escape the harbour on their own would be futile anyway, so if they had to stay, they could try to learn something about it as well.

With a new thought he turned to go back, when he noticed another person nearby, staring at the sea in darkness. After taking a few more steps, he recognized the person as Noren. A few dots connected, and he decided to clear the matter once and for all.

He took a quick look around and closed the distance between them in a few strides. The young man didn't seem to notice him approach, as he gazed at the water with hollow eyes. Regardless of that, Jee caught him by his collar and asked sharply "Was that you?"

Noren looked at him in fear and mumbled "I... I'm sorry. The captain, he- I'm sorry."

His voice was shaky, barely above a whisper, and the look in his eyes made Jee feel pity for him. But it didn't mean he could overlook what the man just admitted. Lieutenant let go of him with a sigh. He didn't even have the strenght to be mad at him right now. Without another look, he left Noren alone at the pier, going back to Wani. Their only consolation now was that they were allowed to stay on this rusty ship that had been their home for the past few years.

In the morning, Aang got up surprisingly early, urging everyone to get going as soon as the sun was up. Not much later, they started heading to the temple, and it was clear that Aang was on tenterhooks in anticipation.

As soon as they were in air, he asked "Zuko? Are you sure you saw them fly? Because you have to actually be an airbender to fly on a glider!"

The prince felt a little obliged after yesterday's misunderstanding, so he took up the explanation "Well, that's what it looked like."

"But how would they do it without bending...?"

"Something about air currents? They were jumping off the temple and... just flying." Zuko answered defensively "I didn't really pay attention to it back then, I was just looking for the Avatar."

"Wait, you said air currents?" Aang asked in thought, as if something didn't add up.

"So, were these mountains here cold enough for you to discover that thing about temporary losing firebending?" Sokka asked suddenly, and the firebender huffed in annoyance seeing that the warrior was thinking about that information harder than he would have liked it.

"I didn't discover it myself, it's just a fact, okay? Weaponised fact even..." he said, knowing that he could probably redirect the other teen's attention with such information "My father actually created a special prison early in his rule with special coolers meant as a punishment for misbehaving firebender prisoners."

Katara's eyes widened in shock "So you do it to each other in your own nation? Take away someone's bending on purpose? That's so cruel!"

The prince watched her for a moment, thinking about a response. He wasn't really sure if he should even try to defend it, especially after he lost his own bending. Eventually he said "Yeah, it is..."

She gave him a look of sympathy, understanding quickly what he meant.

"But wait a second, is it really just about air currents...?" Aang asked sceptically, seemingly out of nowhere. "Then it would just be gliding, not flying. Are you sure, Zuko?"

Zuko just groaned in response. Katara failed to suppress a giggle, but it was muffled by Sokka's gasp. They were faced with the Northern Air Temple in all its glory, with multiple people soaring through the air around it on gliders.

"Wow! They're flying!" Katara marvelled, but it only took a moment for Aang to notice what he already expected.

"No. They're just gliding." he stressed sternly "You can tell by the way they move. They have no spirit... They're not airbenders." he added quietly.

Zuko glanced at him intently "I told you they're not."

The kid sighed heavily "I know... But the first moment I saw it, I-"

A loud laugh sounded through the air, as one of the gliders darted through the air right next to Appa, who roared loudly in confusion.

"Well, that kid seems really spirited to me." Katara commented with a smile.

Aang looked at him with thought. The boy's laughter felt like a challenge, and he wouldn't pass a challenge when it came to flying.

He took a big leap into the air, smoothly opening his glider, and joined the competition. The Gaang watched it curiously at first, but soon the others started gliding too close to them to Appa's liking. Sokka quickly decided it would be much safer to observe from land, steering the sky bison toward one of Air Temple's landing spots.

From there they had a really good view on the Aang's face that the cheeky kid has drawn on the sky with a smoke skillfully released from his cart.

It finally made the airbender pull an ace from his sleeve, and he showed off by riding a bubble of air across the temple wall, which gained him a lot of appraisal from observers in the temple. It seemed to settle the little competition they had, and both boys landed near Appa.

What surprised them was that the other boy didn't get out of his vehicle, instead his friends helped him detach a glider from it. He took off his goggles and trundled himself towards the Gaang with a curious smile. "Hey... You're a real airbender!" Then a realisation hit him, and he grinned. "You must be the Avatar! That's amazing! I've heard stories about you!"

It made Aang blush, being praised with such enthusiasm, and he just mumbled his thanks. However, Sokka didn't waste time, openly checking out the boy's vehicle. "Wow, this glider chair is incredible!"

The kid smiled proudly, and replied, "If you think this is good, wait until you see other stuff my dad designed. Oh, I'm Teo by the way."

It made something click in Zuko's memory, and he remembered the inventor from the last time he was there. However the boy just motioned for them to follow as he started to roll inside the temple.

However, the interior was nothing like what Aang had anticipated. The temple was full of odd pipes and steaming machinery, unlike the usual plain decor he was used to. Before he could voice his worry, Sokka gasped loudly "Wow!"

"Yeah. My dad is the mastermind behind this whole place."

"So your father is the Mechanist?"

They all looked at Zuko, surprised by his sudden question.

"Yeah. How do you know my dad?" Teo asked.

However the prince looked away from their collective gaze "We spoke once. A few years ago."

"Then how come I don't remember you?" the other boy didn't let it slide. "I wouldn't forget such face."

The remark was clearly about his scar, and Zuko couldn't help but feel annoyed. "Then perhaps we just didn't stumble upon each other. Can't we just continue with the excursion?"

The kid continued to watch him for a while before adding "Sure."

As he continued on, Sokka moved closer to the firebender, and muttered "I don't recall you mentioning that earlier too, you know."

"It just didn't come up." he replied quietly with a tone that suggested he wasn't going to elaborate, and Sokka sighed with annoyance. It wasn't worth arguing with the jerk now, when there was a whole temple full of cool inventions to see.

It was still early in the morning when Bato reached the abbey, but he hadn't expected what he saw there. Even before he entered the abbey, a young girl ran away from the gate, calling loudly to the Mother Superior. What's more, inside, he was surprised to see a few men in various ages watching him curiously.

He didn't have time to approach them because Sister Lhamo had already come out to greet him.

"Bato! It's so good to see you." she welcomed him with a smile "Tell me what was your Chief's decision. We cannot wait here much longer."

The warrior noded with similar smile "Chief Hakoda has decided that we will give you shelter within our ships until you find a new hiding place. We're already docked by the beach. But..." he lowered his voice, glancing at the nearby men "We should set sail soon. It would be best if you got rid of the visitors, and moved there."

She looked over her shoulder in surprise, and a smile appeared on her face again "Those are no visitors. They are our men from the monastery. Until recently they were in hiding like us, but they joined us here when we shared the news."

Bato listened to her with a little astonishment, but then laughed lightly "Ahh, I see... That makes sense. But it's gonna be a little crowded."

"My apologies for the inconvenience. I have another revelation for your Chief, but I suppose these ones he'll be glad to hear." she announced, and not to keep him in suspense, she added, "We won't be hiding idly. Some of us want to join the fight. It's not right to leave it all on the shoulders of children, don't you think?"

They looked around the place a bit more, but the more they saw, the more depressing it was for Aang to see the history of his people fall victim to the "upgrades" that were made to the temple. Various murals ruined with pipes gaping from the walls, water fountains filled with polluted water, and even an air bison statue turned into some kind of exhaust vent.

Katara did her best to cheer her friend up, prompting him to move forward, confident there had to be some part of the temple that hadn't been changed yet.

Eventually they managed to find such a place. A round building with an open courtyard, separated from the rest by a bridge that looked untouched yet. Aang actually felt calmed, and he stopped in front of one of the monk statues that were placed around the yard.

"It's nice to see at least one part of the temple that isn't ruined." he admitted with relief.

His joy was premature, because at that moment a resounding "Look out!" sounded, and the very statue they were looking at was shattered into pieces along with the wall it was standing next to.

As the smoke from crushed rock settled, a group of people were revealed in the hole in the building, along with a small demolition crane. The man in the front had an eccentric haircut, an apron, and a monocle on his eye.

"What the doodle? Don't you know enough to stay away from the construction sites?" he asked with a nagging tone as he approached them "We have to make room for the bathhouse!"

Hearing this infuriated Aang. "Do you have any idea what you just did?! You destroyed something sacred for a stupid bathhouse!"

However the man didn't seem bothered by his words, as he stated blatantly "Well, people around here are starting to stink."

It was too much for the usually composed airbender. "This whole place stinks!" He cried as he took a swing, with which he sent a wave of air powerful enough to sweep the crane of the mountain side.

The action stunned the man and a group behind him, and Aang continued "This is a sacred temple. You can't treat it this way! I've seen it when the monks were here. I know what it's supposed to be like!"

"The monks? But you're like 12" the man wondered loudly.

"Dad, he's the Avatar! He used to come here a hundred years ago." the boy in a wheelchair explained with a hushed voice.

However Aang wasn't done yet "What are you doing? Who said you could be here?"

The Mechanist finally took a closer look at the group, and there was a spark of recognition as his eyes rested on Zuko. He looked at the Avatar again with a panicked look "Doing here...? You- you don't know, huh?" he looked at the prince again, but Zuko looked away in answer to the unspoken question.

It seemed to calm the Mechanist and he proceeded to tell the Avatar how his people became refugees after a flood destroyed their village, took his wife, and made his son an invalid. He finished his story after explaining how he was just making improvements for everyone's sake, just like nature does, and to his surprise, the Avatar's companions seemed actually moved by his story. Aside from Zuko, who just quietly rolled his eyes.

Aang wasn't convinced too, and he replied sternly "Nature knows where to stop."

"I suppose that's true." the mechanist admitted as he looked at the demolished part of the building. "Unfortunately, progress has a way of getting ahead of us. Oh, look at the time!"

Everyone's eyes followed the direction he pointed, only to see a couple of candles. The odd thing was, they were lit despite being put outside in the middle of the day.

The man turned to his group promptly "Come. The pulley system must be oiled before dark."

He turned to leave, but Sokka stopped him intrigued "Wait, how can you tell the time from that thing? The notches all look the same."

The scientist couldn't resist showing off his invention, and he proudly hurried with explanation "The candle will tell us. Look."

A moment passed, and suddenly four quiet crackings could be heard. Sokka's face lightened immediately with realization "You put a spark powder in the candle!"

"Four flashes. That's exactly four hours after midday. Or as I call it, four o'candle."

Sokka laughed heartily at the mechanist's joke, while Zuko rolled his eyes again and took a look at the sky. He had to admit that the man was right about the time, which was impressive. Suddenly the mechanist tossed something to Sokka to occupy him for a while, and stepped closer to the prince.

"You didn't tell the Avatar, did you...?" he asked quietly.

Zuko glanced around and replied just as quietly "There is no need for him to know."

The Mechanist looked him in the eye and nodded, then as he was leaving he prompted Sokka to follow him. He was always happy to see fellow tech enthusiasts.

It wasn't long after his banishment started. He still needed to wear a dressing on his eye, but he didn't want to waste any more time. Four Air Temples were the first step he had to take, and so there he was in front of the Northern Air Temple, along with his Uncle. The trail in the mountains was covered in snow, making their silhouettes visible from far away; however these temples were supposed to be abandoned so they didn't worry. How surprised they were when suddenly they heard a man calling them over.

"What are you doing, they almost saw you! You know the back entrance for you is here. Good thing that I saw you on time." he motioned hurriedly, casting a nervous glance in the temple's direction.

They looked at each other, and approached the eccentric man.

"What do you mean, 'for us'?" Iroh asked curiously.

"You're from Fire Nation, right? But the delivery isn't yet due, so why are you bothering us?" the man asked nervously.

"I don't care about any delivery. I'm looking for the Avatar."

"Hey, Zuko! Are you coming?"

The firebender looked around, seeing that the Mechanist had already left, along with Sokka. He turned to see that Aang was looking at him expectantly, and Katara and Teo were both waiting for them.

He hurried to join them, glancing at the boy in his vehicle. Teo paid him no mind; judging by the pace at which he led them, he had a specific place in mind this time.

"There is actually one place in the temple that hasn't changed at all."

It caught Aang's interest, and soon their eyes fell on a big door with odd, twisted tubes on it. Katara immediately noticed a resemblance to the door they had seen in the Southern Air Temple.

"Only an airbender can open it, so inside it's completely untouched, just like the monks left it." Teo said thoughtfully "I've always wondered what's inside."

However, Zuko recognised the door as well.

"He underestimates his father's skills if that's what he thinks. But if the Avatar sees this..." he wondered as he watched the airbender with furrowed brows.

Aang was clearly conflicted about it, but he decided not to open the door, to save the temple's sanctuary as the last unchanged part of the temple. The prince would lie if he said he wasn't relieved.