Brawl 1 Water: Chapter 17; Brawl for The Northern Air Temple

While they were getting close to the Northern Water Tribe, they had to make a small detour. You see last night, they were listening to a male storyteller and this storyteller was telling a story about Airbenders. "So, travelers, the next time you think you hear a strange large bird talking, take a closer look. It might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man, a member of a secret group of Airwalkers who laugh at gravity and laugh at those bound to the earth by it." The storyteller then finished and Aang said to everyone, as the storyteller was asking for donations. "Aren't Airbender stories the best?"

"Was it realistic? Is that how it was back then?" Katara said to Aang and then Aang said. "I laugh at gravity all the time." Then Aang laughed at the thought of gravity." The storyteller then reached them, but they had no money. The storyteller wasn't happy and walked away. Aang followed him and said as the storyteller had his back turned. "Hey, thanks for the story."

"Tell it to the cap, boy." The storyteller said, jingling his cap at Aang. The storyteller dropped a coin from his cap and Momo put it back into the cap. The storyteller didn't see the coin dropped, but saw Momo put it into the cap. The storyteller thought Momo was giving him money and said to Momo. "Aw. Much obliged, little bat thing." Then Aang said to the storyteller. "It means a lot to hear Airbender Stories. It must have been a hundred years ago when your great-grandpa met them."

"What are you prattling about, child? Great-grandpappy saw the Airwalkers last week." The storyteller said, pointing to an old man sitting down. That gave Aang hope and the following morning, they were flying to the Northern Air Temple. As we were getting close to the temple, Hoshi said to Aang. "So how close are we to the Northern Air Temple?"

"We're almost there." Aang said before Phaedrus said. "You must be really excited to see this place."

"Yeah, this is where they had the championships for Sky Bison Polo." Aang said to Phaedrus. "Do you think we'll really find Airbenders?" Katara said to the others. Sokka then said to Katara. "You want me to be like you or totally honest?"

"Are you saying I'm a liar?"

"I'm saying you're an optimist. Same thing, Basically." Sokka said to Katara. Then they reached the Northern Air Temple. The temple was like the Southern Air Temple, but one major difference, this temple had life. People and Bakugan were flying around in the air. "They really are Airbenders!" Katara said as everyone was smiling in amazement. Everyone, but Aang. Phaedrus noticed that and said. "Aang what's wrong? We finally found some Airbenders, so why aren't you happy?"

"Those aren't Airbenders." Aang said and then Sokka said. "What do you mean, they're not Airbenders? Those guys are flying!"

"Gliding maybe, but not flying. You can tell by the way they move they're not Airbending. Those people have no spirit." Aang said before he and everyone noticed a Brawler and his Bakugan flying at them. The Brawler was a guy in a wheelchair and was no older than them, and his Bakugan was a red serpent with wings for arms. Both of them laughed and Katara said to Aang. "I don't know, Aang. They seemed pretty spirited." Then Aang jumped off Appa with Phaedrus to follow the kid and his Bakugan. Then more flyers appeared around Appa, who was surprised. "We'd better find some solid ground before it finds us." Sokka said, taking the reins and making Appa land in a courtyard.

In the air, after Aang followed the kid, and after a while and a few tricks. The kid said to Aang. "Hey there. You're pretty good."

"Yeah, I know. But I can do more than fancy gliding." Aang said before going to a wall. Once he reached the wall, let go of his glider and did an Air Scouter across the wall. Once he was done on the wall he jumped back onto his glider and the kid said to Aang. "Wow! I don't think I can do that. But here's a good one." The kid then let out a trail of smoke from the back of his wheelchair. The kid shaped the smoke trail into Aang's face. Then the kid said to Aang. "What do you think?"

"It's great." Aang said, sounding a little deadpan. Soon both of them landed in the courtyard and after people helped remove his glider and his Bakugan shrink down, the kid rolled up to them and said to Aang. "Hey, you're a real Airbender. You must be the Avatar. That's amazing! I've heard stories about you."

"Thanks." Aang said before Hoshi said to the kid. "How about some inductions. I'm Hoshi, this is my Bakugan Partner Centipod. That's Saida and her Bakugan Partner Pyravian. That's Miguel and his Bakugan Partner Eenoch. You've met Aang and his Bakugan Partner Phaedrus. This is Katara, and the guy looking at your glider is Sokka."

"I'm Teo and this is m Bakugan Partner Serpenteze." Teo said before Serpenteze with a male voice. "It is a pleasure to meet you all." Then Sokka said to Teo. "Wow! This glider chair is incredible."

"If you think this is good, wait until you see the other stuff my Dad designed." Teo said before they entered the temple. The inside wasn't looking as good as the outside. There were pipes coming out of the walls, destroying the Air Nomad works of art and history. Only Sokka was amazed, and Teo said. "Yeah, my dad is the mastermind behind this whole place."

"What's going through these pipes?" Saida said to Teo and he said to her. "Hot air. Everything here is powered by hot air. It even pumps hot air currents outside to give us a lift when we're gliding."

"This place is unbelievable." Aang said and then Teo said to him. "Yeah. It's great, isn't it?"

"No. Just unbelievable." Aang said as he walked away from them. Phadrus followed him and Serpenteze said. "What's his problem?"

"Aang used to come here a long time ago. I think he's a little shocked it's so different." Katara said to Teo and Serpenteze. "So better!" Sokka said and then Hoshi hit Sokka on the back of the head. Sokka then turned to Hoshi and said. "Hey what was that for?"

"For being a jerk."

"How was I a jerk?"

"You say this is great, but you ignore how Aang feels."

"How Aang feels?"

"Yes. This may not be the Temple he was raised in, but this Temple is part of his culture. And now look at it."

"But this Temple is better than the other one."

"Sokka, how would you feel if you went home and found it completely remodeled by strangers?"

"I think that would be great." Sokka said and then Hoshi left in frustration. As for Aang, he was looking at a mural of his people and said to Phaedrus and Katara. "This is supposed to be the history of my people."

"I'm sorry you have to see this." Phaedrus said to Aang. Aang was silent and walked over to a Sky Bison statue over some water. The water looked polluted and smoke came out of the mouth of the Sky Bison. Aang was surprised with discuss, and Katara said to him. "I'm sure some parts of the temple are still the same."

"There is. Follow us." Serpenteze said as he and Teo led them to an area that was the monks' living quarters. As Aang looked around, he said to everyone. "It's nice to see at least one part of the Temple that isn't ruined."

"LOOK OUT!" An old man said just before a wrecking ball destroyed a part of the wall. None of them were hurt and after the smoke cleared, they saw a team of workers, and the one leading them was an old man that had his eye mostly burned off and was dressed like a wacky scientist. The old man, who was trying to warn them earlier, said to them. "What the doodle?! Don't you know enough to stay away from construction sites? We have to make room for the new bathhouse."

"Do you know what you did? You just destroyed something sacred for a stupid bathhouse." Aang said to the old man, really ticked off. The old man didn't see Aang's anger and said. "Well, we need another one. People around here are starting to stink."

"This whole place stinks." Aang said before using his Airbending to send the wrecking ball equipment off the side of the Temple. Then Aang said to the old man, still full of anger. "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 12." The old man said before Serpenteze to the old man. "Oh, he's a lot older than Mack."

"What do you mean Serpenteze?" The old man, whose name was Mack, said to Serpenteze. Teo then said to Mack. "Dad, he's the Avatar. He used to come here a hundred years ago."

"Incredible." Mack said before Aang said to Mack, still a little angry. "What are you doing? Who said you could be here?"

"Doing here… A long time ago, but not a hundred years, my people became refugees after a terrible flood. That flood not only left my infant son badly hurt, but we lost my wife, Teo Mother. I needed somewhere to rebuild, and I stumbled across this place. Couldn't believe it. Everywhere pictures of flying people, but empty. Nobody home. Then I came across these fan-like contraptions."

"Our gliders." Aang said, stopping Mack. Then Mack resumed. "Yes, little light flying machines. They gave me an idea… Build a new life for my son in the air. Then everyone would be on equal ground, so to speak. We're just in the process of improving upon what's already here. And after all, isn't that what nature does?"

"Nature knows where to stop." Aang said as his anger cooled down a little. Mack then said to Aang. "I suppose that's true. Unfortunately, progress has a way of getting away from us." Then Mack looked at a candle and said to his team. "Look at the time! Come. The pulley system must be oiled before dark."

"Wait. How can you tell the time from that thing? The notches all look the same." Sokka said to Mack as he and Saida looked at the candles. Mack then said to them. "The candle will tell us. Watch." Then the candle flashed four times and Sokka said to Mack. "You put spark powder in the candle!"

"4 flashes. So it's exactly 4 hours past midday, or as I call it, 4 o'candle." Mack said and Sokka laughed. Saida then said. "Wouldn't a clock be better?"

"What's a clock?" Mack said and Saida said. "Oh, right. They weren't made here. I could make you one." Saida said and Mack said. "Let's go to my workshop." Mack then took Saida, Pyravian, and Sokka to his workshop. "Hey, Aang, I want to show you something." Teo said to Aang and they followed Teo deep into the Temple. As they were walking, Hoshi noticed how sad Aang looked and said. "You still angry with what Mack did to the Temple?"

"I'm not mad anymore. I just can't get over it. There's not a single thing that's the same." Aang said before Teo said, picking up an animal that was a cross with a spider and crab. "I don't know about that. The Temple might be different, but the creatures that live here are probably direct descendants of the ones that lived here a long time ago."

"You're right. They're kind of keepers of the Temple's origins." Katara said taking the animal from Teo. Katara then gave it to Aang and as Aang got a smile, Teo said to Aang. "Besides, there is one part of the Temple that hasn't changed at all." Teo then took everyone to a hallway that ended with the same door as the door to the Avatar Room in the Southern Air Temple. "Hey… It's just like one in the other Air Temple." Katara said, looking at the door. Teo said to Aang. "Only an Airbender can open it. So inside, it's completely untouched. Just the way the Monks left it. I've always wondered what it was like in there." Aang didn't move and Phaedrus said to Aang. "Aang, what's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. This is the last part of the Temple that's the same as it was. I want it to stay that way." Aang said to Teo and Teo said to Aang. "I completely understand. I just wanted you to know it was here."

"Thanks." Aang said before they left the room. As for Mack, he needed help with a problem with the Temple, so he took Saida and Sokka to a very dark hallway that led deep into the Temple. They did have lanterns, but they weren't very bright. "These lanterns are terrible. I can't see." Sokka said before he opened his lantern and inside were fireflies. "Hey! Close that up. They'll get loose." Mack said as one of the fireflies left the lantern. After Sokka closed his lantern, Saida then said to Mack. "Why would you want to use fireflies for light?"

"Fireflies are a nonflammable light source." Mack said as he took them to a sealed door. "Cover your nose and hold your breath." Mack said before opening an eye hole. Nothing was in the room and after he closed the eye hole, Sokka said to Mack. "Ok. So you brought us all the way down here to see an empty room."

"Wrong. It's filled to the brim with natural gas. I came across it my first time here. Unfortunately, I was carrying a torch at the time. Nearly blew myself and the whole place even more sky-high. I thought my eyebrows would never grow back. Anyway, there's a vital problem that needs solving. From time to time we have gas leaks. And they're nearly impossible to find."

"So this place is an explosion waiting to happen." Sokka said before Mack said. "Yes. Until I figure out how to locate something I can't see, hear, smell, or touch."

"Good thing I have an idea." Saida said before telling them her idea. Outside in the courtyard, Teo was telling Katara, Hoshi, and Miguel how to glide. Aang was also there with Phaedrus, Eenoch and Serpenteze in their regular forms, so they could fly around too. "The wind will carry you. It supports something inside you, something even lighter than air. And that something takes over when you fly." Teo said to everyone, as Katara was getting cold feet. Katara then said to Teo. "I've changed my mind. I think I was born without that something."

"Impossible. Everybody has it." Teo said with a laugh. Then Aang said. "Spirit."

"What?" Teo said as everyone looked at Aang, who then said to them. "That's the something you're talking about."

"Yeah. I suppose it is." Teo said to Aang and then Teo said to everyone. "Are you ready?"

"No!" Katara said before she jumped off the courtyard. The others jumped off and while it was scary at first, soon everyone was having fun flying. "I can't believe I'm flying!" Katara said before Aang said to her. "Just make sure you keep your mouth closed so you don't swallow a bug."

"Teo was right about the air. All I had to do was trust it, let it carry me."

"Even though Teo's not an Airbender, he really does have the spirit of one." Aang said before Hoshi said. "I think Teo would love to hear that." Aang and Teo then landed and Aang said to Teo as their Bakugan landed too. "I've been thinking. If you want to see what's in that room, I'd be happy to open the door for you."

"Thanks Aang." Teo said before Katara said. "Wait! How do we land these things?"

"You kinda skipped that part." Miguel said before a bug entered his mouth. Back at Mack's workshop, Mack said to Saida. "That was an excellent idea, Saida. Mixing the gas with a horrible smile was genius."

"Thank Sokka, it was his idea to use rotten eggs." Saida said before she found a hot air balloon. "Did you make this?"

"Yes." Mack said before Sokka took it and said. "Whoa, how does it work?"

"It doesn't." Mack said taking the hot air balloon from Sokka. Sokka then said to Mack. "What do you mean?"

"I figured out how to make it rise, but not to descend before it burst into flames."

"That's because you don't have a way to release the hot air." Saida said and then Mack said. "What do you mean?"

"If you put something like a lid on the top you could rise and fall by your command." Saida said and then Mack said. "My word Saida. You are a genius." Then an alarm sounded. "Something is wrong. I've got to go." Mack said as he ran out of the room in a hurry. The others followed him and as for Aang and the others, they arrived at the room and Teo said to Aang. "I can't believe I'm finally going to see what's inside." Aang then used his Airbending to open the door. But what they saw after the doors were open was parts for weapons and machines of war. Now these weren't ancient weapons, but modern weapons and in the center was an abandoned hot air balloon with the Fire Nation insignia on it. Aang then said what he was thinking. "This is a nightmare."

"You don't understand." Mack said as he appeared behind them with the others. Hoshi then said as everyone turned to him. "So you don't make weapons for the Fire Nation?" Mack didn't say anything, proving that he did make weapons for the Fire Nation. "You make weapons for the Fire Nation?" Sokka said to Mack, disappointed that Mack is using his skills to make weapons for the enemy. Everyone was starting to get irritated and Teo said to his dad. "Explain all this…Now!"

"It was about a year after we moved here. Fire Nation soldiers found our settlement. You were too young to remember this Teo. They were going to destroy everything, take our people that had hexagon eyes, then burn it to the ground. I pleaded with them. I begged them to spare us. They asked what I had to offer. I offered my services." Everyone understood, but they were still disappointed in him. Mack then said to his son. "You must understand. I did this for you." Teo didn't say anything. He closed his eyes and tears started to form and turned away from his dad. Mack knew his son was disappointed and then went back to his workshop.

Back and Mack's workshop, Mack worked on his hot air balloon. He was feeling sad and had to do something. "When are they coming?" Aang said as he, Teo, and their Bakugan entered the lab. Mack looked at his candle and said. "Soon, very soon."

"You can't give them more weapons." Aang said to Mack and Mack said to him. "If I don't give them what they want, they will destroy this place."

"How can I be proud of you when your inventions are being used for murder?" Teo said and before Mack could say anything a bell rang. The bell let Mack know that the Fire Nation Agent who came to take Mack's work. Mack then said to all of them in a hurry. "You need to leave. Go."

"We're not leaving." Teo said to his dad. "Then hide quickly." Mack said as he hid them and pulled a rope. The rope revealed a trap door and the Fire Nation agent, who was an old man in a fancy robe, appeared out of the trap door. The agent then said to Mack. "You know better than to keep me waiting. Give me what you owe us so I can be on my way." Mack didn't move and the agent said. "Well? Is there a problem?"

"No. Right this way." Mack said, leading the agent to his secret workshop. However Aang used his Airbender to stop them and said letting the agent see him. "The deal is off."

"The Avatar." The agent said, surprised to see him. "Aang, don't get involved." Mack said to Aang before the agent said to Aang. "If I don't get what I came for, the Fire Nation will burn this place to rubble."

"Get out of here." Aang said before using his Airbender to push the agent onto the trap door. It worked and Aang said to the agent. "You're leaving empty-handed."

"Then the destruction of this temple will be on your head." The agent said before leaving through the trapdoor. After that, Aang and Teo told them their meeting with the Fire Nation agent. "This is bad, very bad." Sokka said after Aang and Teo were done talking. Katara then said to Aang. "Aang, what are we gonna do? How can we possibly keep them all away?"

"I'll tell you how. We have something they don't… Air power. We control the sky. That's something the Fire Nation can't do. We can win." Aang said, pointing at the people flying with their gliders and flying Bakugan. Then Mack appeared and said. "I want to help."

"Good. We'll need it." Aang said as he and Teo were happy to see Mack step up. Then after everyone gathered in the courtyard, Hoshi said to everyone. "Alright everyone. We don't have much time, so I'll make this quick. We are going to air bomb them off the mountain. Gliders will use bombs. And we have four types of bombs; smoke, slime, fire, and stink."

"Why are we using bombs? Can't we have the Bakugan then blast them away?" Miguel said and then Hoshi said. "The Bakugan will give us backup if they are able, but their mission is to find and destroy any way up, so the Fire Nation can't reach this place and overwhelm us with overwhelming numbers."

"What about my dad?" Teo said to Hoshi and Hoshi said. "Saida, Mack, and Sokka are getting the war balloon working. And they will have four giant slime bombs. Now everyone gets ready and keeps an eye out for Fire Nation troops. You've lost your home once already, let's make sure you don't lose another one." Everyone nodded and got ready. Then after everyone, with gliders and flying Bakugan were ready, a little girl on look out, said to everyone. "They're coming!"

"Are we ready?" Teo said to everyone, and Katara said. "Yes, but where's Sokka with the war balloon?" Saida then appeared and Miguel said. "Saida, what are you doing here?"

"I came to help." Saida said before Katara said. "What about the war balloon?"

"It's almost ready." Saida said and then Hoshi said. "Very well. Alright, everyone get ready to take off. Saida, roll out Pyravian, then join Migual, Katara, and me on Appa."

"Ok." Saida said before rolling Pyravian. (Phaedrus 600 / Eenoch 600 / Pyravian 600 / Serpenteze 500) Then everyone flew off the courtyard and attacked the Fire Nation soldiers. The first wave went well. They were able to surprise them and the Bakugan were able to stop the advent of soldiers up the mountain. The Fire Nation soldiers tried to fight back, but nothing was working. The ones with spears couldn't reach them and the Firebenders attacked were blocked by the Bakugan. Aang then said to everyone as the Fire Nation soldiers started to retreat. "We've got them on the run."

"Then let's keep up the pressure." Serpenteze said before grappling hooks shot up from cover. "What are those?" Phaedrus said war machines in the shape of tanks started to climb up the mountain. Serpenteze then said to Teo. "Those look like the vehicle you dad was making, Teo."

"Oh no." Teo said as they tried to get the tanks to fall off the mountain, but it didn't work. The tanks were heavily armored to the point that even a Bakugan attack could barely scratch it. And even if they removed the grappling hook, the tank had another hook so nothing stopped the tanks from reaching the last stretch to the Temple. Everyone then tried to attack the tanks, but the bombs did nothing. So Aang and Phaedrus used their Airbending and powers to flip the tanks, but that didn't work either. The tank's center rotated and started to move to the Temple again. In the air, Katara said as they saw Aang and Phaedrus fighting the tanks. "Those things are unstoppable."

"I think I know how they work. I remember my Dad tinkering with a counterbal system, something to do with water." Teo said before Hoshi said to Katara. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Yeah, Enoch we need a left." Katara said as Eenoch flew close to them and they jumped into his hands. Enoch then helped them reach Aang and Phaedrus. They both then used their Waterbending to trap the tanks in the air by ice spikes and then turned the water inside into steam. That caused the joints to break and the wheels to fall off. However there were too many tanks, and they started attacking Katara and Hoshi. Aang protected them as they got onto Phaedrus. Then they all flew to the courtyard. "We're out of bombs." Teo said as they landed and then Serpenteze said. "And we can't hurt those things."

"Come on, Sokka. Where's that war balloon?" Katara said and just then the war balloon came. As it flew overhead, the Fire Nation tanks didn't attack them. "Hey, why aren't they shooting at us?" Sokka said to Mack and then Mack said. "The insignia. They think we're on their side."

"Then I guess they won't see this coming." Sokka said before he cut loose the bombs, but the bombs didn't work. "What do we do now?" Sokka said before Mack said. "Wait a second." Then Mack smelled the air and said to Sokka. "You smell that?"

"Rotten eggs. There." Sokka said, smelling the eggs. Sokka then said, pointing to a crack in the mountain. "That's where the gas is escaping." Sokka then got an idea and started to remove the engine of the war balloon. "What are you doing? That's our fuel source." Mack said to Sokka and Sokka said. "It's the only bomb we've got." Then Sokka and Mack threw the engine into the crack. Then just as the Fire Nation reached the Temple, the gas inside the Temple exploded. The explosion didn't destroy the Temple, but made it impossible to reach by land, and sent the tanks flying away from the Temple. The Fire Nation soldiers then had no choice, but to retreat. Everyone cheered, until they noticed that Sokka and Mack were going down. Luckily for them, Pyravian flew under them. So after abandoning the war balloon, they were rescued and flew back to the courtyard. At the courtyard, Aang said to Teo, Mack, and their people. "You know what? I'm really glad you guys all live here now. I realized it's like the hermit crab. Maybe you weren't born here, but you found this empty shell and made it your home, and now you protect each other."

"That means a lot coming from you." Teo said to Aang. Then Sokka said to Aang. "Aang, you were right about Air Power. As long as we've got the skies, We'll have the Fire Nation on the run." Everyone cheered in hope and joy. Everyone but Mack. Mack didn't cheer because he had a bad feeling about the war balloon they had lost after it disappeared into the clouds.

Unfortunately, Mack's feeling was right. The war balloon not only was in one piece, but the Fire Nation had found it. And although the Fire Nation had lost this battle, the war balloon would be the gateway to many victories in the battles that followed.

And done. I have to tell you this, Teo dad is just called the Mechanist in the show. I looked it up, so I decided to give him the Mack because he doesn't have a name. And I don't think of the Mechanist as a name, because it sounds more like a title than anything else. Now that's it, I hope you in this chapter, see you next time.