The Burning Truth-Peace

Part 53~Teo

Teo stared in wonder as Hachi finished the story. "So yeah, this guy is the avatar."

Zuko scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, shuffling his feet. Teo looked over Zuko, his eyes taking in everything. "That is amazing."

Sokka shook his head. "Yeah, avatar stuff, blah, blah, blah. I want to know how you made that glider chair!" Sokka looked over the chair, making him chuckle.

"If you think this is good, wait until you see the other stuff my dad designs." Teo grinned as Sokka gaped. Teo led the four inside the building, seeing a room filled with pipes and machinery.

Isu gulped, paling at the room. The pipes stuck through the mural that had once been on the wall.

Sokka didn't care. He ran up to the machine with sparkles in his eyes. "Wow!"

"Yeah, my dad is the mastermind behind this whole place. Everything's powered by hot air. It even pumps hot air currents outside to give us a lift while we're gliding." Teo showed the group everything, each second making Isu tenser.

Hachi bit his tongue, even though he was struggling with this. "This place is unbelievable."

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Teo didn't notice or care about the siblings' struggles.

"No," Isu spat out, "Just unbelievable." Isu spun around, walking away. Teo lowered his head, disheartened by the reaction.

Katara shook her head. "I'm sorry about her. She has spent her life reading about her ancestry and wanting to visit the Airbender temples, I think she was shocked it was so different," she explained as Sokka burst into the conversation.

"So better!"

Katara glared at him as Iroh stepped closer to Isu.

"This is supposed to be the history of my people," Isu stated, placing a hand on the wall.

Iroh grabbed her shoulder, rubbing it lightly. "I'm sure some parts of the temple are still the same," he reassured, making Isu nod.

Teo walked across a bridge, leading the group to a large room with no roof. Monk statues circled the walls, meditating for eternity.

"It's nice to see that at least one part of the temple that isn't ruined," Isu smiled as Isu stepped closer to a long beard Airbender. "I know this man. Grandpa met him, he was a good-" Isu couldn't finish when someone screamed for her to move.

The wrecking ball hit against the statue, knocking it down. Dust rained down as the group coughed. Six men stood where the statue had been, unbothered about when they were doing as the mechanist talked. "What the doodle? Don't you know enough to stay away from construction sites? We have to make room for the bathhouse!" The mechanist strolled to the gang as Isu snapped.

"Do you know what you did?! You just destroyed something sacred for a stupid bathhouse!"

"Well, people around here are starting to stink," the mechanist waved her hand about as Isu gritted her teeth.

"This whole place stinks!" She spun around, blasting forward and hitting the crane off the edge. "This is a sacred temple! You can't treat it this way! I have spent my life studying how to respect the old way! My life waiting for the day I could restore the ways of the Airbenders and here you're just tearing it down like it means nothing! I know what this place is supposed to be like and you're killing it!"

The mechanist stared in shock as Isu growled.

"What are you even doing?! Who said you could be here?!"

The mechanist turned away from Isu, coughing awkwardly. "Doing here? A long time ago but not a hundred years my people became refugees after a terrible flood. My infant son-" the mechanic stood behind Teo, placing a hand on Teo's chair- "Two was badly hurt and lost his mother. I needed somewhere to rebuild and I stumbled across this place. Couldn't believe it! Everywhere! Pictures of flying people! Bue empty, nobody home. Then, I came across these fan-like contraptions!"

Isu scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Our gliders."

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

"Nature knows where to stop."

"I suppose that's true. Unfortunately, progress has a way of getting away from us. Look at the time!" The mechanist pointed to a candle, waving to the others. "The pulley system must be oiled before dark."

Sokka jumped forward, a curious look on his face. "Wait, how can you tell the time from that thing? The notches all look the same."

"The candle will tell us. Watch." The mechanist waved Sokka over as the candle popped four times.

"You put spark powder in the candle!"

"Four flashes, so it's exactly four hours past midday. Or, as I call it; four o'candle." The mechanist paused as Sokka laughed. "If you like that, wait till you see my finger-safe knife sharpener." He held up his left hand, showing off the wooden fingers. "Only took me three tries to get it right."

He pulled off his fingers, dropping them into Sokka's hand as he screamed. The mechanist laughed, poking Sokka in the back and motioning for him to follow.

Teo watched them leave before turning to Isu. "Hey, Isu, Hachi, I want to show you something."

Isu snorted, raising her eyebrow sharply. "If it's anything like the other things, I'll pass. I'm not meant to be killing anyone today." Isu smiled sweetly as Teo chuckled lightly, motioning her to follow.

"She's joking right?"

Katara smiled, putting on an innocent expression. "Let's not poke that bear."

Teo led Isu through the building as she growled, unable to shimmer down her anger. "I just can't get over it. There's not a single thing that's the same."

Teo spun to the side, leaning down. "I don't know about that. The temple might be different but the creatures that live here are probably direct descendants of the ones who lived here a long time ago." Teo held out the little hermit crab making Isu smile.

Isu gently held the crab in her hands. "You're right. They're kind of keepers of the temple's origins."

Hachi snickered. "And they're a hermit, just like you," Hachi screamed as Isu kicked him, keeping the crab level as she did.

"Besides, there's one part of the temple that hasn't changed at all," Teo grinned, making Isu grin, letting the crab crawl on her shoulder, she nodded, letting Teo lead the way.