- Third POV -
Several Fire Navy ships are lined up. Something that looks like a railroad stretches out along the shipyard. There are a few tents lined up in front of the ships. One of the bigger tents is being guarded by two Fire Nation soldiers. Zhao's inside the tent, standing in front of a large map that is hung up on the wall. He holds his hands behind his back.
"...And by the year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war" Says Zhao as he turns around. He looks at Zuko who's sitting at a table. Meanwhile Iroh's standing in the corner, looking at some weapons that are placed against the wall.
"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool!" Snaps Zuko angrily.
"Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue. So, how is your search for the Avatar going?" Zhao pulls up alongside Zuko and smirks. Iroh knocks over a weapon display behind them. The weapons come crashing down with a lot of noise. The general cowers at the noise and the damage he wrecked. Zhao turns around looking annoyed.
"Eh...my fault, entirely" Iroh places his hands in his sleeves and walks away from the weapons with a faint smile on his face.
"We haven't found him yet" Answers Zuko aggressively.
"Did you really expect to? The Avatar died a hundred years ago. Along with the rest of the airbenders, even the family that was hiding in the Western Air Temple. It's such a shame we had to kill them, they seemed like nice people" Zhao's face contorts in an evil expression. Zuko clenched his fists in anger, Zhao noticed this and kept on going.
"They're all dead. Unless you have found some evidence that the Avatar is alive?" Continued Zhao.
"No. Nothing" Zuko faces Zhao and responds very clearly. Zhao rises from his chair, with an expression of disbelief on his face.
"Prince Zuko, 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" Zhao leans closer to Zuko and glares at him.
"I haven't found anything. It's like you said. The Avatar probably died a long time ago. Come on, Uncle, we're going" Zuko looks up at Zhao and his tone becomes slightly more aggressive. As Zuko approaches the door, the guards stop him from leaving by crossing their spears while a third soldier enters the room. The two soldiers block Zuko's path. A soldier enters the tent and walks up to Zhao.
"Commander Zhao, we interrogated the crew as you instructed. They confirmed Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody, but let him escape together with the airbender girl. Turns out she survived somehow" Informs the soldier. Zuko gulps, turns around to look at Zhao.
"Now remind me, how, exactly, was your ship damaged?" Zhao starts to smile evilly, he walks up to Zuko, who's glaring at him. This was exactly what he had been afraid of.
❀❀❀
Appa had landed at the base of snow covered stairs. Aang, Mizuki, Katara and Sokka where making their way up to the mountain trail. Aang starts running, excitedly looking back at the two siblings and Mizuki.
"So where do I get something to eat?" Asks Sokka while he clutches his stomach with both hands. The bags under his eyes are darkened and he has a very annoyed 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?" Scolds Katara annoyed.
"I'm just a simple guy, with simple needs" Shrugs Sokka. As the three approach Aang they see him pointing at something infront of him.
"So that's where my friends and I would play airball!" Beams Aang he points at a stadium consisting of many tall poles.
"And over there is where the bison would sleep, and..." Aang sighs upset.
"What's wrong?" Asks Katara concerned.
"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" Responds Aang a bit saddened. He stands on the ledge, his clothes flutter in the wind, a dead tree at each side of him. Mizuki walks up to Aang
"So tell me, how do you play this airball game?" She asks confidently. Katara and Sokka smile at Mizuki and Aang's face clears up. He smiles too, as he looks at Mizuki from the corner of his eyes. Mizuki's looking concentrated while standing on a pole and guarding the goal of the airball court, on the other side of the of the court stands Aang, who's also concentrating. Suddenly he suspends a hollow ball in the air with airbending. He lets the ball roll over his shoulders, tosses it from side to side and lazily tosses it up the air. He smiles innocently at Mizuki with his hands behind his back.
That's when Mizuki realizes that Aang doesn't have the ball anymore and quickly turns around to see the ball coming at her in full speed, she creates a small current of air to redirect the ball. The ball is now going to Aang's direction, Aang jumps up and kicks the ball away with a powerful air swipe, Mizuki managed to catch the ball. She stumbles a little but gets up quickly, Mizuki closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and creates a big blast of air. The ball rapidly shoots across the poles, changing direction as it crashes into several poles, but steadily moving closer towards Aang's goal.
Aang watches as the ball races quickly towards him, he makes a full turn, creates a huge blast of air and sends the ball straight to Mizuki. Mizuki opens her mouth in shock, she tries to catch the ball but grunts as she falls backwards holding the ball. The force of impact had send her flying backwards, right through the rotating door of the goal behind her. Mizuki lets go of the ball and safely waterbends herself to the ground. Aang laughs and jumps up in joy, then he jumps down to where the rest was standing.
"Whoo! I won! Yay!" Shouts Aang in excitement. Mizuki huffs, still being exhausted from airbending so much. The girl was a powerful bender in general. She just never learned how to properly airbend.
"Yes, you did Aang" She huffs while smiling.
"Okay listen I don't wanna ruin your game and all. But could someone explain why Mizuki is bending two elements? Is she like a half-avatar or something?" Said Sokka who was clearly confused, Mizuki sighed.
"Well, you see. I'm a dualbender, the spirits gifted me with the ability to bend two elements. But in return, I must guide Aang on his journey of mastering the four elements" Explained Mizuki.
"Yep! Isn't that great!" Beamed Aang, Mizuki happily nodded. The two continued playing airball.
"Confusing, but great. It's still confusing though" Mutters Sokka, suddenly his eyes widen when he sees an old Fire Nation helmet lying in the snow. It has been battered by the elements, and shows signs of cracks and burns. He looks up at his sister.
"Katara, check this out" He whispers.
"Fire Nation" She whispers back.
"We should tell him" Says Sokka, Katara nods.
"Aang! There's something you need to see" Yells Katara. Aang hands the hollow ball to Mizuki who happily accepts it and runs towards Katara and Sokka cheerfully.
"Okay!" Shouts Aang. Katara's determined look to tell Aang the truth shifts to one of insecurity. She glances at the helmet and back at Aang. Suddenly she shifts her weight and brings her arms up. With one swift movement she swings her arms back, manipulating the overhanging snow to fall down, obscuring the helmet and Sokka from sight.
"What is it?" Asks Aang happily. Sokka brushes the snow off his head and looks at his sister.
"Uh...just a new waterbending move I learned" Says Katara while she Innocently holds her hands behind her back.
"Nice one! But enough practicing, we have a whole temple to see!" Replies Aang as he excitedly turns around and starts walking away.
"You know, you can't protect him forever" Sighs Sokka while he brushes the last of the snow from his head and shoulders. Katara sadly slants her eyes and follows Aang and Mizuki. Sokka and Katara are standing at the entrance of the courtyard, while Aang runs up ahead excitedly dragging Mizuki along with him.
"Katara, firebenders were here. You can't pretend they weren't" Scolds Sokka in a stern voice, crossing his arms. Katara walks past her brother, Sokka pulls up beside Katara as she is talking.
"I can for Aang's sake. If he finds out that the Fire Nation invaded his home, he'll be devastated" She answers.
"Hey guys! I want you to meet somebody!" Beams Aang. Mizuki, Katara and Sokka look up and see Aang standing in front of a statue.
"Who's that?" Asks Sokka.
"Monk Gyatso! The greatest airbender in the world. He taught me everything I know" Says Aang as he faces the statue. Mizuki looks at the statue, Monk Gyatso must of have been like a father figure to Aang. Since airbenders don't grow up in families or with parents. Aang bows to the statue of an elderly man with a mustache and a distinct round necklace sitting in lotus with his fists bumped to each other in front of him, Mizuki copies Aang's gestures and bows to the statue as well.
- flasback -
It was a sunny day at the Southern Air Temple.
"But the true secret, is in the gooey center" States Gyatso. Monk Gyatso is standing in front of an oven. With the use of a long wooden paddle, he retracts an orange fruit pie out of the oven. And with the use of his airbending, he creates a miniature tornado to spin out the fruity center of the pie. Aang's sitting on the ledge of the balcony, resting his left hand on his knee while staring into nothing.
"Hmm..." Says Aang distracted. Gyatso walks over to the ledge as well and places his newly baked cake next to three others that were already standing there.
"My ancient cake-making technique isn't the only thing on your mind, is it Aang?" Asks Gyatso with a calm, soothing and understanding voice.
"This whole Avatar thing, maybe the monks made a mistake" Says Aang upset.
"The only mistake they made was telling you before you turned sixteen, but we can't concern ourselves with what was. We must act on what is" Gyatso extends his arm and points at the Southern Air Temple. The sky is filled with several sky bison with their calves who are feasting from the nearby trees. Sun beams bathe the scene in bright light, it's a beautiful sight.
"But Gyatso? How do I know if I'm ready for this?" Asks Aang unsure.
"Your questions will be answered when you're old enough to enter the air temple sanctuary. Inside, you will meet someone who will guide you on your journey" Says Gyatso as he sits next to Aang on the ledge. Aang's face clears up. He uses his airbending to shift positions on the ledge, now facing his guardian and teacher.
"Who is it?" Asks Aang excited.
"When you are ready, they will reveal themselves to you. Now, are you going to help me with these cakes, or not?" Aang is slightly annoyed by the vague answer, he grunts softly and looks up to the sky before cupping his face in his hands again. Monk Gyatso smiles at him and Aang smiles lovingly back.
"All right!" Beams Aang happily as he stands up. Gyatso and Aang take on an airbending stance, bringing their hands back.
"One. Two. Three!" Exclaims Gyatso. They both shift their weight to the front, launching their air balls. The balls send the four fruit pies flying high in the air, disappearing in the clouds. Meanwhile four monks in lotus, are meditating quietly between some trees. Suddenly, the cakes drop out of the sky and each of the monks is hit on the head by one of the colorful desserts. The moment the pies hit their heads, several flying lemurs appear and start to stuff their faces. One of the lemurs jumps up and down on the stomach of the toppled-over monk, while another grabs some cake right of the head of the monk on the far right. One of the lemurs jumps on the head of one of the monks. Aang and Gyatso start laughing loudly at the scene. Aang is clutching his stomach, while Monk Gyatso is leaning on the railing of the balcony. They both move back from the railing once they're done laughing. The two monks bow at each other.
"Your aim has improved greatly, my young pupil" Says Gyatso as he pats Aang's head.
To be continued
Word count: 2146