Blurb
The twins return to their childhood temple, hoping to find evidence that their people still thrive in the region, but they make a shocking discovery.
The small group had made camp by a lake surrounded by cliffs for the night, but it was time for them to leave when the sun rose.
Katara and Hikari were talking up on Appa's saddle as they worked while Aang was tightening Appa's reins.
"Wait till you see it, Katara," Aang said proudly. "The air temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world."
"Yeah, it is amazing," Hikari confirmed, feeling prideful that it was her home.
Katara spoke up, slightly nervously. "Aang, Hikari, I know you're excited, but it's been a hundred years since you've been home."
"That's why I'm so excited! Aren't you excited, Hikari?" Aang asked, facing his twin.
"I don't know how I feel, actually. I mean, a lot can change in a hundred years, all the people we used to know, all the things we used to do. It's going to be different," Hikari said honestly, thinking about their caretaker, who was an old man when they left and how he had to have passed on.
Aang apparently didn't think about it.
"I know," he said. "But I need to see it for myself." He jumped off of Appa's head and walked over to Sokka, who was snoring.
"Wake up, Sokka," Aang said. "Air temple here we come!"
Sokka groaned. "Sleep now, temple later." He turned on his side and started to snore again.
Aang was about to do something with a stick, but Hikari ran over and shook her head. She spoke to Aang through her mind, "Wait, I have an idea."
Aang could practically hear her smirk through the sentence and stayed silent as Hikari said aloud, "Come on, Aang. He can sleep for a few more minutes."
"Thanks, Hikari," Sokka murmured.
Aang didn't know what she was going to do, but he knew it was going to be good because when Hikari had an idea, things got interesting, especially with pranks. When Aang was out of prank ideas at the air temple, she always had a ton of good ones.
Hikari used her airbending to gently float Sokka and his sleeping bag up and over the water. She smirked evilly and nodded at Aang, who nodded back.
She took away the wind that was keeping him up and he fell right into the water.
He came back up, sputtering, "Hey you said you would give me a few more minutes!"
His face made everyone laugh harder than they already were.
"Hey, it was either this, or Aang would have pretended there was a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!" Hikari shouted, over the laughing.
Sokka wiggled out of his sleeping bag, and waded to the shore where he tried to ring it out.
"So... you're awake. Let's go!" Aang said excitedly.
•••
Prince Zuko's ship was docked next to other fire navy ships that were more than twice the size of their ship.
"Uncle, I want the repairs made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay too long and risk losing their trail," Zuko said as he and his uncle walked off the ship.
"You mean the avatars?" His uncle asked.
"Don't mention their names on these docks," Zuko quickly said. "Once word gets out that they're alive, every firebender will be out looking for them, and I don't want anyone getting in the way."
"Getting in the way of what, Prince Zuko?" A new voice questioned.
"Captain Zhao," Zuko greeted, coldly.
"It's commander now," He corrected. "And General Iroh, great hero of our nation."
"Retired general," Zuko's uncle corrected.
"The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests anytime. What brings you to my harbor?" Zhao asked politely.
"Our ship is being repaired," Iroh explained, gesturing to their nearly totaled ship.
"That's quite a bit of damage," Zhao concluded after inspecting it where he stood.
"Yes, you wouldn't believe what happened," Zuko said, attempting to think quickly. When that failed, he said, "Uncle, tell Commander Zhao what happened."
Iroh made a face and said, "Yes, I will do that. It was incredible. What, did we crash or something?" He asked Zuko that last part in a whisper.
"Yes! Right into... an Earth Kingdom ship!" Zuko said, avoiding eye contact and clearly lying.
"Really?" Zhao asked, clearly not buying the lie but pretending to go along with it. "You must regale me with all the thrilling details. Join me for a drink?" He requested, getting in Zuko's face.
"Sorry, but we have to go," Zuko declined, turning away.
"Prince Zuko," Uncle Iroh scolded, "show Commander Zhao your respect." He turned to Zhao. "We would be honored to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favorite."
Zuko growled and shot fire at the ground before following his uncle.
•••
Appa and his passengers were flying right above the clouds, and they could see the tops of mountains that broke through the sea of white.
"Hey, stomach, be quiet alright? I'm trying to find us some food," Sokka ordered, clutching his rumbling stomach.
While he was rummaging through the bags, Hikari looked over her shoulder and asked Katara, "Does he always talk to his stomach?"
Katara giggled. "Yep. Every time he's hungry."
Sokka shook a bag over his hand, only to be disappointed when only a few crumbs fell out.
"Hey!" He cried "Who ate all my blubbered seal jerky?"
Aang was surprised. "Oh, that was food?" He asked "I used it to start the campfire last night. Sorry."
Hikari lightly hit him on the shoulder. "How many times have the monks told you not to touch something if you don't know what it is?" She scolded him.
"Hey, it's not like you listen either!" He shot back.
"Touché," she said, shrugging. "But I don't burn things that people pack."
"You what?" Sokka groaned. "No wonder the flames smelled so good."
They came up to a bunch of mountains and the twins shouted excitedly, "The Potola Mountain Range! We're almost there!"
"Aang, Hikari, before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders," Katara said, coming to the front of the saddle.
"What about them?" They asked.
"Well... I just want you both to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother-"
"And you think they might have done the same to our people." Hikari finished for her.
Aang looked grim for a second before saying, "Just because no one has seen an airbender doesn't mean the fire nation killed them all. They probably escaped. Right, Hikari?"
Hikari bit her lip and said, "Yeah, you're probably right, Aang."
Aang smiled, knowing that his sister's intuition is almost always right.
Before Katara could say anything, Hikari asked, almost desperately, "Katara, can we talk?"
Katara glanced at Aang and nodded. They went towards the back of the saddle with Sokka, leaving Aang to steer Appa.
"What is it, Hikari?" Katara asked.
"It's about the airbenders. I lied to Aang about them probably escaping. I have a strong feeling that they are all gone."
"Why did you lie to Aang?" Katara asked.
"I know how my brother is, he will be heartbroken. And he truly believes they escaped or are still alive. He will refuse to listen and will have to see for himself. I just don't want him to be upset." Hikari looked down at the last part.
Katara was lost in thought for a minute. "How about you?" She asked.
"What do you mean?" Hikari was puzzled.
"I mean, how would you handle seeing if your people are dead?"
Hikari thought before saying quietly, "I would be devastated, but I have to stay strong, for Aang."
"You really love your brother, don't you?" Katara asked softly.
Sokka piped up, "I wish I had a sister that loved me that much."
Katara whacked him and Hikari laughed, despite herself.
Unbeknownst to the kids, Aang had been listening to the entire conversation through his and Hikari's connection.
No one noticed it, either, when a few tears escaped the airbender and fell onto Appa's fur.
A few minutes later, they were flying straight up the side of the mountain and Katara and Sokka were hanging on to the saddle out of fear of falling to their deaths.
They flew over the mountain and saw a large building, carved right into the mountain.
"There it is, the Southern Air Temple," Aang said.
"Wow! It's amazing!" Katara said.
"We're home, guys. We're home," Aang told Appa and his sister.
Hikari didn't look happy, though. She was scanning the entire mountain for any signs of life and became more worried with each passing second that she saw nothing.
The second Hikari turned away from her brother, his smile dropped and was replaced with worry. It was becoming painfully obvious to Aang that no one was there and that Hikari might have been right.
•••
Prince Zuko, his Uncle Iroh, and Commander Zhao, was in a Fire Nation tent, guarded by two armed men.
Commander Zhao, who was standing in front of a map of the world, said, "And by year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war."
He turned back to Zuko.
"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool," Zuko said, not turning around in his chair.
"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue," Zhao told him. "So, how's your search for the avatar going?"
Iroh, who was inspecting weapons in the back, dropped the spears that he was holding, making a loud crash.
"Uh... my fault, entirely." He said, backing away with a strange smile.
"We haven't found th- him yet," Zuko answered, almost slipping up.
"Did you really expect to?" Zhao asked. "The avatar died a hundred years ago, along with the rest of the airbenders."
Zuko frowned and looked away.
"Unless you found some evidence that the avatar is alive."
Zuko turned to him. "No. Nothing."
"Prince Zuko," Zhao reasoned. "The avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found."
"I haven't found anything." Zuko insisted. "It's like you said- the avatar probably died a long time ago." He stood and addressed his uncle. "Come on, Uncle. We're going."
As he walked to the exit, the guards blocked the door with their spears and a soldier came in and said, "Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed. They gave some strange news."
"What is it, then?" Zhao asked roughly."
"They've discovered two avatars. They appeared to be twins. They also confirmed that Prince Zuko had both of them in custody, but let them escape."
"Two avatars? I've never heard of that before." Zhao muttered before speaking louder. "Now remind me, how exactly was your ship damaged?"
•••
They landed Appa on a landing platform and the group took off on the paths up the mountain.
Aang and Hikari were running ahead of their friends, wearing similar expressions, although neither of them noticed.
Hikari and Aang stopped running and looked up at the tip of the temple.
"I'm going look around," Hikari spoke through their connection absentmindedly. "Can you show Katara and Sokka around?"
"Sure. You know how to find me," Aang nodded with his statement and his sister nodded back
Hikari looked back at the water tribe siblings before taking off on her glider.
"So where do I get something to eat?" Sokka asked loudly, clutching his stomach with a grumpy look on his face.
"You're lucky enough to be one of the first outsiders to ever visit an airbender temple, and all you can think about is food?" Katara asked Sokka incredulously.
"I'm just a simple guy with simple needs," He defended himself.
Aang stood on the edge of a path and pointed at a cluster of large poles with holes on opposite sides of the court and spoke to his friends, trying to ignore the feeling of dread settling in the pit of his stomach.
"So that's where our we and our friends would play airball, and over there is where the bison would sleep." He shifted to look at a bunch of hollows on the side of a cliff. "And..." he trailed off in a sigh, acknowledging the bad feeling.
"What's wrong?" Katara asked.
"This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds. I can't believe how much things have changed," Aang said sadly, looking over the edge of the cliff, his clothes blowing in the wind.
Katara and Sokka looked at each other, recalling their conversation with Hikari. They seemed to come to the same conclusion: cheer Aang up.
"So, uh, this airball game- how do you play?" Sokka asked as he and his sister walked up beside Aang.
Aang smiled.
•••
Hikari raced down every hallway and ran in and out of every room in the temple, calling for people.
She grew more scared and upset with every empty room. She eventually made her way up to her and Aang's room.
She gasped at the state it was in. It was dark, there were cobwebs everywhere, and the air smelled stale.
Her eyes widened when she saw that on Aang's bed, yellow and fragile with time, was the note that they left on the night they ran away:
"Dear Monk Gyatso,
We're sorry to tell you like this, but we are leaving. We didn't want to be separated, so we are planning on hiding until the monks change their minds. Don't worry about us, we might come back in a few days.
Until then, Aang and Hikari"
A few tears slipped as Hikari realized that they never kept their promise. Those were the last words they ever said to their caretaker.
She sat on her heels and silently cried.
•••
Aang and Sokka stood on a pole on opposite ends of the court. Sokka was carefully guarding his goal while Aang was using airbending to keep the ball floating and spinning above his hand.
He stood up straight, threw it up, and closed his eyes. Sokka looked up, confused.
Aang opened one eye and kicked the ball, adding airbending into the mix, sending the ball bouncing off pole after pole until it slammed into Sokka, sending him and the ball through the goal and into the snow.
Aang laughed and said, "Aang: seven. Sokka: zero."
He made the numbers with exaggerated hand gestures.
"Making him feel better is putting me in a world of hurt," Sokka complained from his position in the snow.
Hikari laughed at him as she landed.
"What happened to you?" She asked as she helped him up.
"He and Aang were playing airball," Katara explained.
She laughed again, raising an eyebrow. "What kind of idiot would be a nonbender and still challenge an airbender to play airball. No offense."
"Maybe you should show him how it's done," Katara suggested.
"Great idea. Aang, get ready for a real match!" She called to her brother as she joined him on the court.
As Sokka was getting up, he saw an old Fire Nation helmet tucked into the snow at the base of the cliff.
He crawled over to it and whispered, "Katara, check this out."
She walked over. "Fire Nation."
"We should tell them," Sokka suggested.
"Aang, Hikari, there's something you need to see," The waterbender called.
The airbenders paused their game and went over, but before they could see the helmet, Katara waterbended the snow on the ledge above it to fall on the helmet, covering Sokka in the process.
"What is it?" The twins asked.
"Uh... just a new waterbending move I learned," She lied, being as convincing as she could.
"Nice one. But enough practicing. We have a whole temple to see," Aang said, walking away with his sister right beside him.
Only Hikari picked up on the anxious undertone to her brother's statement.
"Are you protecting Hikari now, too? You can't protect them both, not forever," Sokka told his sister, brushing snow off of him.
Katara didn't answer, she just walked silently after the young twins.
>>>
Aang and Hikari were running through a courtyard and Sokka and Katara were walking a distance from them.
"Katara, firebenders were here. You can't pretend they weren't," Sokka reasoned.
Katara walked past him and said, "I can for Aang and Hikari's sake. If they find out the Fire Nation invaded their home, they'll both be devastated."
"But, Hikari knows that they might all be dead. She's accepted it," Sokka pointed out.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean she won't be upset. Imagine, everyone you know being slaughtered ruthlessly." Katara held her hands in front of her heart.
"Hey, guys!" Aang called. "We want you to meet somebody." He gestured to a statue of an old man with a necklace with three spirals and an arrow on his head.
"Who's that?" Sokka asked.
"This is Monk Gyatso. He was a great airbender and our caretaker and teacher." Hikari said.
They both bowed to the statue and a certain memory flashed through their heads.
***
"But the true secret is in the gooey center," Monk Gyatso said as he pulled a cake out of an outdoor oven and raised the cream on top of it with airbending.
Aang and Hikari, who were sitting back to back on the wall of the balcony, hummed in acknowledgment.
Monk Gyatso put his cake on the edge with three others. "My ancient cake making technique isn't the only thing on your mind," He observed.
The twins looked up and turned to have their legs dangling over the edge, mirroring each other's movements.
"This whole double avatar thing-" they said in unison. "Maybe the Monks made a mistake."
"The only mistake they made was telling you both before you turned sixteen. But we can't concern ourselves with what was. We must act on what is."
Both of the twins were annoyed. They looked out and saw the flying bison munching on foliage, other airbenders walking about the temple, and even some old monks meditating.
"But, Gyatso," they said, "how do we know if we're ready for this?"
"Your questions will be answered when you're old enough to visit the air temple sanctuary. Inside, you will meet someone who will guide you on your journey."
They both jumped up. "Who is it?"
"When you are ready," Gyatso insisted. "He will reveal himself to you."
The twins got annoyed again and groaned.
"Now..." Gyatso said, walking back to the middle of the balcony. "Are you going to help me with these cakes or not?"
They perked up and all stood in a line.
"One..." Gyatso counted. "Two... three!"
The three of them launched the cakes off the balcony with airbending. They soared far before coming down to land on four old monks who were meditating, causing flying lemur bats to come down and eat.
The three on the balcony laughed at the Monk's surprise and when they backed away, Gyatso said, "Your aim has improved greatly, my young pupils."
***
The memory finished and Aang and Hikari looked up and faced the statue.
"You must miss him," Katara sympathized, placing her hands on their shoulders.
"Yeah," They said flatly, walking forward.
"Where are you going?" Katara asked.
"The air temple sanctuary. There's someone we're ready to meet."
They continued to walk up the stairs.
Katara looked back at Sokka and he shrugged before they followed the twins.
>>>
They came up to a big door with two horns, three blue spirals, and a lot of tubes.
"But Aang, Hikari, no one could have survived in there for a hundred years," Katara reasoned.
"It's not impossible," Aang argued. "We survived in the iceberg for that long."
"But we were frozen in suspended animation," Hikari argued, pointing out what she thought was obvious.
"Katara, whoever's in there might help us figure out this avatar thing." Aang went on, ignoring his sister.
"And whoever's in there might have a medley of delicious cured meats." Sokka piped up, rubbing his hands together.
Hikari thought about saying something but decided against it as Sokka ran up to the door and slammed right into it. Sokka grunted as he tried to push the door open.
He slid down to sit and asked, "I don't suppose either of you have a key?"
"The key, Sokka, is airbending."
>>>
Aang and Hikari took a deep breath and lunged forward, exhaling as they sent a blast of air into one horn each.
The air from Aang's horn flipped the top right spiral to the maroon side, while Hikari's air flipped the top left, and both of their air blasts flipped the one on the bottom of the triangle.
They stood up straight as the double doors opened. Aang and Hikari stood there, staring into the darkness.
"Hello? Anyone home?" Aang called, and Hikari lightly hit him on the shoulder.
They walked into the darkness, the water tribe siblings following seconds later.
•••
"So a twelve-year-old boy and girl bested you and your firebenders? You're more pathetic than I thought," Commander Zhao commented, pacing in front of Zuko, who sat in a chair with two guards standing slightly behind him.
"I underestimated them once, but it will not happen again," Zuko said sharply.
"No, it will not," Zhao confirmed without turning around from his spot, looking at the wall. "Because you won't have a second chance."
"Commander Zhao," Zuko protested. "I've been hunting the avatars for two years, and I-"
He was cut off by Zhao turning around and shooting fire out of his hands while saying, "And you failed. Capturing the avatars is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. They're mine now."
Zuko shouted angrily and lunged at Zhao, but was restrained by the guards before he could do anything.
"Keep him here," Zhao ordered.
In frustration, Zuko kicked over the small table in front of his uncle, shattering the tea set on top of it.
"More tea, please." Iroh requested.
•••
The open doorway provided the only light in the room as the group of four walked in. The light allowed just enough visibility for them to see statues.
Hundreds and hundreds of statues lined up in a spiral from the center of the huge room. Aang and Hikari walked in between the statues, looking at them in wonder.
"Statues?" Sokka asked, stopping in front of one. "That's it? Where's the meat?"
Everyone ignored him.
"Who are all these people?" Katara asked.
Aang could hear his sister's thoughts racing and started to say something just as Hikari came to the answer:
"Avatars! These people were the avatars before us. Look, water, earth, fire, air, the avatar cycle!"
"All these people are your past lives," Katara said in awe.
"Wow! There's so many," Aang observed, looking around.
Hikari joined him as they walked to the statue at the end of the spiral, the previous avatar.
"Past lives? Katara, you really believe in that stuff?" Sokka asked.
"It's true," His sister insisted. "When the avatar dies, he's reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle."
Aang and Hikari looked up at the face of the avatar before them, a firebender.
The next thing they knew, Katara was shaking them, saying, "Aang, Hikari, snap out of it."
They closed their eyes for a second before asking, "Huh?"
"Who is that?" Katara asked.
"That's Avatar Roku, the avatar before us," They said without looking away from the statue.
"You were a firebender?" Sokka asked, finally joining them. "No wonder I didn't trust either of you when we first met."
"There's no writing," Katara observed. "How do you know his name?"
Sokka crossed his arms and looked suspiciously at the twins as they said, "We're not sure. We just... know it somehow."
Sokka grunted. "You just couldn't get any weirder."
There was a sound behind them and they saw a shadow approaching. They all ducked behind a couple of statues.
Aang and Hikari behind one, and Sokka and Katara behind another.
"Firebender. Nobody make a sound," Sokka whispered.
"You're making a sound," Katara protested quietly, resulting in a round of shushing from Aang and Sokka.
Hikari made frantic motions with a clear message: shut up!
She shadow crept closer and Sokka whispered, "That firebender won't know what hit him."
He stood up, weapon in hand, and jumped out from behind the statue to see... a flying lemur bat.
Aang, Hikari, and Katara poked their heads out and saw the little black and white creature.
"Lemur!" The twins shouted.
"Dinner," Sokka said, drooling.
"Don't listen to him," Aang said. "You're gonna be our new pet."
"Not if I get him first!" Sokka shouted, jumping out of the statue's shadow, causing Aang and Hikari to do the same.
The lemur screamed as its hair stood on end and it ran away. Sokka fell where the lemur was and the twins ran over him, literally.
"Wait! Come back!" They shouted.
"I wanna eat you!" Sokka yelled as they chased it into the hallway.
"You are not eating that lemur!" Hikari informed him as she tripped him with air.
The airbenders sprinted ahead of Sokka, despite being a head shorter. They even ran on the walls to show off.
Aang sent an airball behind them, making Sokka crash face-first into the ground.
The lemur ran onto the balcony and jumped on the railing. When it saw Aang and Hikari pursuing it, he jumped and flew away.
Aang and Hikari jumped off the balcony without delay and Hikari whooped in delight while Aang laughed.
Aang jumped from rock to rock, while his sister fell right past him, using her airbending to adjust her speed and angle.
"Hey! No fair!" Sokka shouted after them.
•••
Commander Zhao walked into the fire nation tent and informed Prince Zuko and his uncle, "My search party is ready. Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship, and you will be free to go."
"Why? Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?" Zuko asked, turning his head towards Zhao.
Zhao laughed. "You? Stop me? Impossible."
"Don't underestimate me, Zhao. I will capture the avatars before you," Prince Zuko warned, standing up.
"Prince Zuko, that's enough." Iroh stood to try to calm his nephew.
"You can't compete with me," Zhao insisted, almost challengingly. "I have hundreds of warships under my command. You? You're just a banished prince. No home, no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you."
"You're wrong. Once I deliver the avatars to my father, he will welcome me home with honor. And restore my rightful place on the throne."
"If your father really warned you home, he would have let you return by now, avatars or no avatars. But in his eyes, you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation."
"That's not true."
"You have the scar to prove it."
Zuko stood in Zhao's face and shouted, "Maybe you'd like one to match!"
"Is that a challenge?" Zhao asked, mockingly.
"An Agni Kai at sunset," Zuko confirmed.
"Very well. It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do."
Iroh stayed behind his nephew. "Prince Zuko, have you forgotten what happened last time you dueled a master?"
"I will never forget."
•••
The flying lemur bat landed a second before the twins and moved less than a second before they jumped right where he was, landing face-first into the dirt.
It ran into an old concrete building, covered in vines and the twins shouted, "Hey! Come back!"
They walked into the building, pushing aside vines and curtains.
"Come on out, little lemur," Aang called.
"We just want to be your friend," Hikari added. "We promise not to let Sokka eat you."
They pushed aside one last curtain and gasped. Before them, dozens of skeletons in old firebender uniforms littered the ground.
"Firebenders? They were here?" Aang whispered.
They grabbed each other's hand for comfort and shifted their gaze to where a skeleton sat, half buried in the snow with the sunlight shining on it.
The skeleton was wearing air nomad clothes. Walking closer, they saw that it had a necklace on. The necklace was from a set the best airbenders wore. This one was the one Monk Gyatso wore.
"Gyatso," They whispered.
They fell to their knees, hands on the ground, and heads hung.
"Hey, guys, did you find my dinner yet?" Sokka asked, coming in.
He saw the twins crying and came up to them. "Guys, I wasn't really gonna eat the lemur, okay? Oh, man."
He finally noticed Monk Gyatso's skeleton and said, "Come on, guys. Everything will be alright. Let's get out of here."
Sokka placed his hands on the twins' shoulders and they lost it.
Their tattoos and eyes started glowing and they looked up, an angry expression on their faces. Sokka let go of them and gasped.
•••
Katara was walking around the statues and when she came up to Avatar Roku, the statue's eyes started glowing. As did the eyes of all the statues in the room, making a blue spiral around the walls and up into the darkness.
"The twins!" She realized, running out of the room.
•••
In an Earth Kingdom temple for the past Earth Kingdom avatars, a man sat looking at the avatar paintings, as their eyes started glowing.
•••
The light on top of a Water Tribe temple glowed blue, illuminating the land around it and the two women who watched it happen.
•••
The light on the highest floor of a Fire Nation temple glowed, and a man clad in red ran out of the room to tell someone, "Send word to the Fire Lord immediately. The avatar has returned."
•••
Aang and Hikari stood up, eyes and tattoos glowing, and their hands grabbed onto each others'. The wind around them started to blow. It became harder and harder with each passing second.
"Aang! Hikari! Come on!" Sokka shouted over the wind. "Snap out of it!"
He let out a scream as the circle of wind expanded, knocking Sokka off his feet and sending him skidding a few feet backward.
The wind shot up, breaking the roof and sending Sokka flying into the rubble behind the twins.
"What happened?" Katara asked, fighting her way to Sokka in the raging winds.
"They found out firebenders killed Gyatso!" Sokka shouted.
"Oh no! It's their avatar spirit!" She responded. "They must have triggered it! I'm gonna try and calm them down!"
She started making her way towards the avatars.
"Well, do it, before they blow us off the mountain!" Sokka shouted at her as his grip started to loosen on the rubble.
Katara staggered forward, trying not to get blown away. When she was about halfway there, the twins lifted off the ground in their air sphere.
•••
On opposite ends of the field, was the exiled Prince Zuko, and Commander Zhao.
"Remember your firebending basics, Prince Zuko. They are your greatest weapons," Iroh reminded his nephew.
"I refuse to let him win," Zuko said grimly, standing up and turning around.
"This will be over quickly," Zhao commented confidently, repeating what Zuko did.
A man rang a gong, and the fighting began.
The two men stood in identical firebending stances.
Prince Zuko acted first. He conjured fire in his hands and lunged at his opponent, shooting a large blast of fire at him.
Zhao casually sidestepped that and Zuko's next attack.
Zuko shot another stream of fire, but this time, Zhao crossed his arms forming an "x", stopping the fire, then breaking it apart when he uncrossed his arms.
Zuko was panting and his fist was smoking, all the while, Zhao didn't take one shot.
Zuko kicked, sending a wave of fire at Zhao. He conjured fire in his hands and used it to separate the wave of fire into two streams, flowing past him.
Zhao finally struck, he stepped forward, planted his heels, and sent a snake of fire along the ground. When he could see over the fire, Zuko was panting and his stance was dropping.
"Basics, Zuko," Iroh reminded Zuko again. "Break his root."
Zhao stepped forward and shot fire, which Zuko deflected, getting pushed back a step. Zhao shot fire again, resulting in the same thing happening.
They repeated that once more, but on the fourth try, Zuko got knocked down, sliding in the dirt for a second before stopping.
He groaned as he tried to get up, only to see Zhao jumping up with fire in his hands. He landed right in front of the prince and shot fire at his face.
Time seemed to slow down for Zuko as he dodged, getting on his hands, spinning his legs, and knocking Zhao's foot right out from under him.
Zuko landed on his feet and slid his foot on the ground, sending wave after wave of fire, forcing Zhao to back up.
After a couple more moves on the offense, Zuko managed to knock Zhao on his back.
Zuko quickly came over and put his hands in front of Zhao's face, preparing to finish the fight.
"Do it!" Zhao commanded.
Zuko shot fire from his fist... burning the spot next to Zhao's head.
"That's it?" Zhao demanded. "Your father raised a coward. "
"Next time you get in my way, I promise, I won't hold back," Zuko said, walking away.
Zhao stood up and kicked fire at Prince Zuko.
Iroh stood in front of Zhao and grabbed his foot, stopping the fire. He pushed, sending the commander flying back.
Zuko charged forward, but his uncle held him back.
"No, Prince Zuko," He advised. "Do not taint your victory."
He turned to the defeated man. "So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you. Thanks again for the tea. It was delicious" He turned and walked away with his nephew following.
Zhao stood up and growled like an animal.
When they were a distance away, Zuko asked, "Did you really mean that, Uncle?"
"Of course. I told you ginseng tea is my favorite," He said with a sly smile.
•••
"Aang! Hikari! I know you're upset, and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love," Katara shouted to the distraught avatars.
"I went through the same thing when I lost my mom. Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family, Sokka and I, we're your family now. And you still have each other."
The twins slowly lowered themselves to the ground, the wind calming as they touched down, but the glow didn't fade.
The siblings came up behind them.
"Katara and I aren't going to let anything happen to you. Either of you. Promise," Sokka said.
Katara grabbed Aang's right hand and Sokka grabbed Hikari's left.
The glow from their eyes and tattoos finally faded. They fell into each other, and Sokka and Katara fell to the floor with them.
"We're sorry," They said, as they closed their eyes.
Katara hugged them and said, "It's okay. It wasn't either of your faults."
"But you were right," They both continued speaking at the same time. "And if firebenders found this temple, that means they found the other ones, too."
"We really are the last airbenders," Hikari said alone, barely audible.
"You were right," Hikari heard her brother say in her head.
"I wish I wasn't," She replied dejectedly.
Aang and Hikari hugged each other tightly, and Katara and Sokka wrapped their arms around them for extra comfort.
>>>
The twins stood in front of the statue of Avatar Roku, looking up at his stone face.
"Everything's packed," Katara said, coming up behind them. "You ready to go?"
"How is Roku supposed to help us if we can't talk to him?" The twins asked in unison.
"Maybe you'll find a way."
They heard a sound behind them and turned to see the lemur standing in the doorway.
It hopped over to Sokka on two feet and dropped a pile of fruit at his feet before bolting away.
Sokka immediately got on the floor and ate the fruit.
"Looks like you made a new friend, Sokka," Aang observed.
"Can't talk. Must eat," Sokka said, his mouth full.
Hikari spoke to Aang through their connection, but not out loud, "How is he sure that those aren't poisonous?"
"He probably isn't sure," Aang replied, adding a small, mental laugh at the end.
He waited for his sister to ask her question out loud but was surprised when she didn't.
"Hey little guy," Aang greeted as the lemur climbed him and held onto his head. Hikari reached over and pet the lemur's head.
>>>
"You, me, Hikari, and Appa- we're all that's left of this place. We have to stick together," Aang said to his furry friends as they looked at the air temple from the dirt ledge they were on.
"Katara, Sokka, say hello to the newest member of our family," Aang said, referring to the lemur as he walked over to the siblings.
"What are you gonna name him?" Katara asked.
The lemur jumped off Aang's arm, grabbed a peach, and came right back.
"Momo," Aang decided, as he started to eat the peach he stole from Sokka right as he was about to bite it.
Everyone laughed at his face.
"Hey, where's Hikari?" Katara asked.
Everyone looked around and realized that she wasn't with them.
"Hikari?" Aang asked telepathically.
"I'm on Appa's tail," She replied in the same way.
Aang led the group behind Appa, and true to her word, Hikari was sitting on Appa's tail, absentmindedly playing with his fur.
"Are you okay?" Katara asked.
Hikari hummed a response but didn't give an actual answer.
They all got on Appa, everyone watching Hikari with concern, as she seemed very distracted.
>>>
As they flew away, Aang looked over the back of Appa's saddle, watching silently as the place he and his sister called home vanished into the clouds, knowing that they might never see it again.
Hikari, however, sat crisscrossed on Appa's head with her eyes closed. She didn't want to see the only home she ever knew disappear.
She had closed her connection with Aang for the time being, not wanting to talk in any way. She could feel Aang trying to reopen the link, but it didn't budge.
For once in her life, Hikari felt like wanted to be alone.
~~~
Third chapter! Done! Sorry this took so long to post, I was working on my other stories/fanfics. Which reminds me, I have this Miraculous Ladybug fanfic called "The French Superheroes" (terrible name, I know), and I was hoping y'all can check it out. I posted it before this fic, and somehow, it has less views.
If you don't check it out, it's totally ok. Thanks anyway for reading! Origin out!