Avatar the Last Airbender - Book 4: Air (The Master of the Lion Turtles)

Chapter Four: The Eastern Air Temple

ZUKO POV

When Aang managed to calm himself down, and stop crying, they all untangled themselves from the hug. Aang peeled away from Zuko, leaving only Sokka with his hand resting on his arm, ensuring the Fire Lord was alright. The five sat down on the floor, trying to theorize about what Zuko had been told. 

"I can't believe these people saw the first air bending that wasn't conducted by Aang in over 100 years!" mused Sokka, his eyes wide with amazement as he stared around the construction site, as if he was trying to picture the bandits. Zuko was glad to see him excited again. It was difficult watching his closest friend loose interest in everything he once loved. Were they best friends? He wasn't sure, and certainly didn't want to scare Sokka by suggesting it. 

"I've never seen air bending ever!" joked Toph, making everyone laugh. Aang ran his hands over his bare head.

"Did the officers say what this air bender looked like?" he asked Zuko, who racked his brain. 

"No, I don't think they got a glimpse of them? Though I doubt you would recognize them if they did...it has been over a hundred years Aang..." he trailed off, not sure what else to add without making the air bender cry again. Aang simply nodded, deep in thought.

"I just don't know how a family line could have survived that long...Air Nomads were all born with the ability to bend because of their spiritual connection, but their power fades as their spirituality does. How could one survive that long? Without the temples? Without the monks to guide them?" 

"Maybe they are a monk?" offered Sokka, "Or maybe they had a similar situation to you! You guys could share ice stories!"

"What? Like compete to see who can freeze themselves and disappear from the Earth for hundreds of years the fastest?" laughed Toph, punching Sokka in the arm. Katara shrugged, her arm interlaced with Aang's.

"Maybe it's not an air bender..." she suggested. Toph stopped laughing. Everyone stared at her. She held up her hand that wasn't interlaced with Aang's. "I'm just saying! We shouldn't get our hopes up thinking we will find an air bender when the chances of that are practically slim to none," she argued. Zuko was shocked. Katara was usually the one talking about positive attitude and happy-go-lucky vibes. The others were obviously shocked too. 

"Katara...we can't just act like this isn't an amazing possibility...Aang could finally get the chance to meet someone like him again! After over a hundred years; new air benders!" argued Sokka. 

"I get that," Katara shot back, "but if we get super excited and pray and decide that there is an air bender out there  waiting for us to come find them and it turns out to be some rebels just trying to trick us into handing over the Avatar again then -" she stopped when Aang yanked his hand out of her's. 

"Katara! I can't just sit by and not explore this opportunity! If I don't have hope then what do I have? I have to do this," he whispered. Katara shook her head.

"No Aang. It's too dangerous. This is a Fire Nation ploy to capture you and control the Avatar again!" Zuko couldn't stop the anger in his voice.

"What do you mean 'a Fire Nation ploy'? My people have nothing to do with this!" he sneered, the hurt in his eyes obvious. 

Katara shook her head. "Zuko, you know what I mean! What about the New Ozai Society? Fire benders like that will exist all over the world!" Zuko felt the head rising in his hands. How dare she accuse his people of trying to capture the Avatar! Would nothing be enough to change some peoples' minds? He felt a hand on his arm. Sokka looked him in the eyes, silently asking him to stop and think before he acted. He took a deep breath before continuing. 

"Katara. The members of societies, like the one you just mentioned, are not welcome in the Fire Nation. Not unless they denounce all loyalty to their respected society. So, in light of this, never imply that those people are part of my Nation." Katara sighed.

"Fine. Gang up on me all you want. I am simply trying to explain that this is likely not what it appears. So, when we discover that this is simply some kind of trap, I reserve the right to say; I told you so!" Aang pulled away from her completely, curling his legs into his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He looked like a child trying to disappear whilst his parents argued in the next room. Zuko realized, he himself had made that very pose numerous times when he was a child. 

"Fine. Just fine Katara. I have the first chance since I woke up of actually finding someone like me and you refuse to even give it a chance. So, yeah, just fine. You reserve that right." He turned away from her. Zuko felt the tension in the circle was so dense that Toph would probably be able to bend it if she tried. Sokka fiddled with the ropes on the plans he still had bundled in his lap. Zuko wondered if they were as detailed and amazing as the ones he had sent him over the past few months. Whenever he received one of Sokka's  plans, Zuko would pour over it for hours by himself before bringing it to his council. He would read every label, trace every detail with his eyes and follow each line with his fingers. He loved watching Sokka's designs evolve. Every time he returned them after adjustments had been made, the buildings only became grander and more beautiful. It amazed Zuko how Sokka could fall into such a troubling and dark state and still produce these incredible designs.

Zuko had apologized to Sokka more times than he could count. There wasn't a day that went by when he didn't think of Suki. Think about what he could have done to protect her. She was his guard. His staff. His friend. He was supposed to protect her, just as much as she did him. But he had failed. He remembered collapsing at Sokka's feet, his hair sticky with blood and roughly cut by enemy swords. His armor was burnt, bent and bloody, his body covered in cuts and bruises. He had cried and begged for his friend's forgiveness, tears streaming down his dirty face, dripping onto the floor.  Sokka had asked what happened, what was wrong? Zuko poured out his pain and described what had happened. Zuko remembered the then still a boy collapsing into the dirt beside him, sobs racking this throat. He had wrapped himself around Sokka, desperate to protect at least one of them, and they had cried together. 

Zuko snapped back to reality to stop himself from crying. Toph was fiddling with her space bracelet, forming shapes. Katara sat with her arms crossed and Sokka and Aang appeared to be having a conversation with their eyes. Zuko cleared his throat.

"Well...erm...if we do decide to go and investigate these bandits then I know where to start!" he said cheerily. Katara scowled, but the look of hope Aang had made up for it. "After my first letter, I not only asked for confirmation but also for spies to track and follow the group to their hide out. They did this multiple times, almost always failing. However! Once they managed to follow them all the way to the Eastern Air Temple!" Aang frowned.

"That's quite far away though, it's where I was born. I went back there to master the Avatar State with Guru Pathik, I didn't see anyone else there."

"So maybe Pathik packed up shop and these guys are using it as their new hide out? It would explain how the air bender has kept their spiritual connection," offered Toph. Aang's frown deepened, but he nodded.

"So we go there and confront them and learn about this air bender," he said triumphantly. 

"Also ask them why they're stealing our supplies," added Sokka. Aang turned slightly red.

"That too."

"So its settled!" said Toph, leaping to her feet with the help of a newly produced spire of rock, "We head to this temple and see what's up with these chumps!" Katara humphed. "You coming or not Sugar Queen?" asked Toph. Katara looked round at the group and realized she was very outnumbered.

"Fine," she moaned, "but if we get killed -"

"We know," groaned Sokka, "you told us so!"