We got on Appa the next morning and flew off to the northern air temple to see what last nights commotion around the campfire was. Aang was sceptical about the whole flying people deal, but if you looked close enough, you could see something in his eyes... Hope...
He spoke with some enthusiasm, and part of me wondered if he really was as sceptical about the actual airbenders thing or honestly believed they were still around, and he wasn't alone. Part of me could actually relate to that. If it weren't for the Gaang and Amaya, I wouldn't have anything.
"Do you really think we'll see some airbenders!?" Katara asked excitedly, coming round to the back to sit with Sokka and me. Sokka was whittling while Momo watched, and I pretended to nap.
"Do you want me to be like you or totally honest?" Sokka questioned, not even looking up or trying to sound interested.
"Are you saying I'm a liar?"
"Well, he ain't calling you a truther...." I piped up, my eyes still closed.
"I'm calling her an optimist," Sokka responded pointedly. "But yeah, the same thing basically."
"HEY, GUYS! LOOK AT THIS!" Aang called back. I opened my eyes, and a bad feeling settled in my gut when I saw the literal joy glowing on Aang's face. Up ahead, we saw the Air Temple, and figures were floating around it, little black shapes. Something seemed off about them. Aang seemed to see it too, and his face fell immediately.
Katara gasped excitedly. "They really are airbenders!"
"No, they're not," Aang responded, his grief barely hidden in his voice.
"What do you mean they're not!?" For the first time since we left that morning, Sokka actually sounded excited. "Those guys are flying."
"There's something off about the way they're flying," I said, moving further forward. "I mean, when Aang flies, he looks like he belongs in the sky, natural. These guys seem...fake."
"Mogui is right," Aang's face became a neutral mask. "They might be gliding, but they're not airbending. Those people have no spirit."
"I don't know, Aang, that kid seemed pretty spirited," Katara commented as a kid flew over our heads, laughing. I almost got brained by his funny chair glider thing.
Aang got this cocky expression as the kid grinned back at us, jumping into the air with his glider. Those other kids glided around Appa's head, annoying him so he sort of bucks, throwing Katara onto Sokka and me. She grabbed me around my waist, trying not to fall off. This was getting dangerous, so I jumped onto Appa's head and grabbed his reins to minimise any potential collateral damage.
"We better find some solid ground before it finds us!" Sokka called to me.
"Way ahead of you," I called back, guiding Appa down to the Air Temple. We landed and looked up to see Aang and the other kid doing loops and twists and stuff. I admit, it looked fun. If possible, I'd like to see if I could try it out.
"Go, Teo!" one kid shouted.
"Show that bald kid how it's done!" another one yelled.
I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing. "Show an airbender how to glide! Priceless!"
Aang did some fancy airbending, obviously showing off to the other kids, when the kid in the chair started drawing cloud pictures. And, again, I couldn't help myself. I burst out laughing at the picture of a grumpy looking Aang and could just imagine his face looking pretty much the same.
Aang eventually landed neatly near us while the other kid came to a screeching halt a short distance from us. The other kids ran over to him and started removing the glider parts of the chair, and I realised the kid couldn't walk. The kid wheeled over to us and stared at Aang for a moment.
"Hey!" he had a spark of excitement in his eyes. "You're a real airbender!" He paused. "You must be the Avatar!" His face lit up with genuine joy, and I couldn't help but smile at the kid's enthusiasm. "That-That...That's amazing! I've heard stories about you!"
"Thanks..." Aang said, scratching his head in a slightly shy manner.
"Wow!" Sokka said enthusiastically, moving towards the kid. "This glider chair is incredible!"
"Yes, it is," I gave the kid my best serious face. "But you almost brained me up there, kid. Gotta be a little more careful, or someone could get seriously hurt."
"Oh... I'm sorry..." he cast his eyes down, his cheeks coloured slightly from embarrassment. "I didn't mean to cause any harm."
"Eh, no real harm done," I shrugged and threw him a friendly grin. "Just watch out, ok? It goes for the rest of you too."
"Yes, sorry!" The other kids all chorused.
"But, if you thought the chair was good," Teo said, turning to Sokka, who was still admiring the glider. "Wait until you see the other stuff my dad designed."
Teo guided us into the Air Temple, and I immediately had a feeling that something wasn't what it seemed.
The foyer was filled with pipes and machinery and smoke. Aang's face switched from passive to heartbroken, and I placed a hand on his shoulder. Something about all this felt wrong...Like the history of this place and the people that once lived here was being completely overlooked. There was a statue up ahead with pipes going through the head, pipes that had gone right through walls... it looked like a mess.
"Wow!" Sokka said excitedly, and I actually tensed at that. Sokka couldn't be that oblivious to how wrong this all was? This was a temple! The home of people who had lived simply turned into something... different.
"Yeah, my dad is the mastermind behind this whole place," Teo said proudly. "Everything's powered by hot air. It even pumps the hot air outside to give us a lift while gliding."
"This place is unbelievable!" Aang said softly.
"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Teo responded excitedly.
"No," Aang said sadly. "Just unbelievable."
"It would be impressive," I started, putting a hand against the stone wall. "If it wasn't so blasphemous."
Teo gave me a confused look, but I didn't bother hiding the look of disgust for this place on my face. Katara put a hand on Teo's shoulder and explained our reactions to the kid.
"Aang used to come here a long time ago. I think he's a little shocked it's soo....different!"
Sokka made a comment about better, and I threw him a dark look. He really was that oblivious.
"Katara, it's not different," I deadpanned. "It's the shell of his home being ripped apart. This is his past! This is part of his history!" I got a little annoyed near the end of my rant. I grumbled and turned away. "And you never know what it is you've got till it's gone."
"What's wrong with him?" Teo asked Katara softly, a small quaver in his voice.
"Mogui lost his memories. He doesn't remember anything, except his friend," she explained. "I can sort of understand why he's upset, but-"
"No," I said with a heavy sigh. "You don't get it."
I walked off quietly, my eyes roaming around the temple room. I came to stand next to Aang and stared up at the wall with paintings of Air Nomads on it, pipes breaking through the wall and breaking up the images.
"This is supposed to be the history of my people..." Aang said in a slightly broken voice.
Katara put her hand on Aang's shoulder, but he shrugged her off and wandered away. She reached for him, and I put my hand out, stopping her.
"Give him a minute," I said softly. "His world is crashing down around him all over again. Give him some space. He'll talk when he's ready."
She gave me a sad look but nodded and lowered her arm. We watched him as he stood before a statue of an Air bison, which belched smoke and schlop. Aang jumped away in disgust, and we went and put comforting hands on his shoulders.
"I'm sure some parts of the temple are still the same," Katara said gently.
We headed over to what was once the living quarters of the Air Nomad people, and Aang finally lightened up. This whole area looked untouched, and that tension I hadn't realised had been building finally eased, if only a little.
"It's nice to see at least one part of the temple that isn't ruined," Aang said in a lighter tone.
"I like it," I commented. "It doesn't feel as oppressive as the rest of the place."
Suddenly, someone yelled, "look out!" and there was rubble flying everywhere. We turned to see some people step out of the dust, and a rather crazy looking fella stepped forward.
"What the doodle?" He exclaimed. "Don't you know enough to stay away from construction sites! We have to make room for the bathhouse!"
That tension came back. My fists caught alight as I stepped up beside Aang, who aggressively held his staff.
"Do you know what you did!?" He demanded, fury coming off him in waves. "You just destroyed something sacred! For a stupid bathhouse!"
"Well, people around here are starting to stink!" The guy responded cheerfully.
"This whole place stinks!" Aang screamed. The two of us immediately attacked the machine with the wrecking ball attached, Aang's airbending augmenting my firebending. There were many startled gasps, but I was breathing heavy and trying to keep from setting the whole place on fire.
"Mogui!" Katara hissed, grabbing my arm. I threw her a barely contained glare and shrugged her off.
"This was a sacred temple!" I growled. "You should be respectful! You can't treat things that are sacred like this!"
"I've seen it when the monks were here!" Aang yelled. "I know what it's supposed to be like!"
"The monks?" The man asked, looking mildly confused. He threw me a cautious gaze; his eyes fixed on my burning fists. "But...you're twelve...."
"Dad!" Teo whined. "He's the Avatar! He used to come here a hundred years ago."
Aang advanced on the old man aggressively. "What are you doing!? Who said you could be here!?"
"Hmm... Doing here?" The old man pondered for a moment before turning to face us. "A long time ago...BUT! Not a hundred years! My people became refugees after a terrible flood."
The man did some weird dramatic swirl and stood behind Teo. "My infant son, Teo, was badly hurt and lost his mother."
He sniffed several times, and I finally allowed the flames on my hands to flicker out. "I needed somewhere to rebuild, and I stumbled across this place. I couldn't believe it! Everywhere, pictures of flying people! But empty! Nobody home!" He started doing a bunch of weird poses. "Then! I came across these fan-like contraptions!" He started running around, his arms out, pretending to fly.
"Our gliders?" Aang questioned, still glaring with his arms crossed over his chest.
"Yes!" He said cheerfully, flapping his hands like wings. "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."
Katara wiped her tears on Aang's shirt, and Sokka looked like he was holding back tears. My hands unclenched, and I crossed them over my chest.
"And, after all, isn't that what nature does?"
"Nature reverts to neutral," I said. "Not what you would call improvements...."
"Nature knows where to stop...." Aang mumbled.
"I suppose that's true. Unfortunately, progress has a way of getting away from us. Look at the time!" The old guy with the Einstein hairdo said, pointing at candles. He turned to the other workers. "Come! The pulley system must be oiled before dark."
"Wait!" Sokka walked over to the candles and stared at them in confusion. "How can you tell the time from that thing? The notches all look the same."
"The candle will tell us!" The old man said. "Watch!"
The candle made four popping sounds, and Sokka gave the old geezer an impressed look. "You put spark powder in the candle!"
"Four flashes! So it's exactly four hours past midday!" The old man turned to Sokka. "Or as I call it, 'four o' candle'!"
Sokka laughed, genuinely amused, and while that was pretty impressive, I was still too tightly wound and annoyed to be particularly amused.
"If you like that! Wait till you see my finger safe knife sharpener!" The old man lifted a hand with three wooden fingers. "Only took me three tries to get it right!" He threw the wooden digits at Sokka, who caught them and stared for a second or so before giving a disgusted squeak. Old Man Crazy tapped Sokka on the shoulder and waved him over. "Follow me!"
Teo wheeled towards us and smiled brightly. "Hey, Aang! I wanna show you something."
We opted to follow him, and once far enough from the rest, Aang finally exploded.
"I just can't get over it!" Aang ranted. "There's not a single thing that's the same."
I put a hand on Aang's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. He threw me a thankful glance, and I removed my hand to fold it over my chest.
"I don't know about that," Teo said with a slight smile. This kid never seemed to stay down for long. I realised that's probably why I couldn't stay mad at him. Teo reached down and picked up a little hermit crab. "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."
He put the crab in Katara's hand, and she smiled as it scuttled around on her hand. I absently thought that if that had been Amaya, she would have screamed and thrown it across the room before running. The thought brought a smile to my face, and I couldn't help the small snort of laughter. Aang gave me a confused look, and I mouthed 'later' to him.
"You're right," Katara patted it gently before turning to hand it to Aang. "They're kind of keepers of the temple's origins."
Aang took it, and a small smile crept onto his face as the little critter scuttled on his hand.
"Besides," Teo piped up. "There's one part of this temple that hasn't changed at all."
We walked further into the temple until we came to a part that appeared untouched. We came to stand before a big door with an unusual locking mechanism.
"Hey!" Katara said excitedly. "It's just like the one in the other Air Temple!"
"Oh right," I said absently. "You guys went to that other Air Temple before you bumped into me."
"Only an Airbender can open it. So inside is completely untouched," Teo explained. "Just the way the monks left it."
Suddenly, that bad feeling from before crept up, and I could feel the hairs on my neck start to stand on end.
Teo had a vaguely dreamy look on his face as he stared at his lap. "I've always wondered what it was like in there."
"Aang?" Katara said softly, turning to the Airbender, who stared up at the door with sad eyes.
"I'm sorry," he bowed his head and closed his eyes, his brow coming into a firm look of determination. "This is the last part of the temple that is the same as it was. I want it to stay that way."
Even though you could see the disappointment in Teo's eyes and hear it in his voice, he still smiled and spoke in a friendly manner. "I completely understand. I just...wanted you to know it was here."
"Thanks," Aang said quietly before turning away and walking back down the hall.
The others made to leave, but I stood there, my arms crossed and a frown on my face, as I stared at the door.
"Mogui?" Katara called. "Something wrong?"
"Not sure," I mumbled back. "Bad feeling. I feel like there's something...wrong with this whole place, and it's not just the so-called 'improvements'. I feel like ... something bad is about to happen."
Aang frowned and looked over at the door.
"Don't worry," Teo piped up. "We're safe here. Not many people know the way up here unless they can fly."
"The Fire Nation did," I responded darkly, my frown deepening. "Sorry, dark thoughts, I'll try to loosen up."
"I might have an idea how to help with that," Teo said brightly.
Teo eventually managed to convince Katara to try gliding. I had been keen to try it before, and it just was a matter of getting myself out of the dark spot my mind had wandered into. It seemed like a good way to loosen up, so I agreed when Teo suggested it.
"The wind will carry you," Teo explained, as Katara stood nervously near the edge of the courtyard and a sheer plummet to earth. "It supports something inside you, something...even lighter than air."
He wheeled over, and I stood with Aang. I had just finished making loops and had come back down when I got cold. At least I had cooled off, I guess. "And that something takes over when you fly."
"I've changed my mind..." Katara responded, still staring down below, her voice quivering. "I think I was born without that something."
"Come on, Katara," I teased, smiling. "I could do it! You gonna let a firebender out do you?"
"No!" She retorted. "I just... don't think I have that something Teo is talking about."
Teo laughed, his laughter slightly infectious.
"Impossible!" He said, smiling. "Everyone has it!"
"Spirit," Aang said suddenly. He'd been so quiet, and I had forgotten he had been standing nearby.
"What?" Teo asked, his face scrunching up in confusion.
"That's the something you're talking about," Aang explained.
"Yeah..." Teo said thoughtfully. "I suppose it is."
Teo eventually agreed to join Katara as she glided, and I had planned to, but Aang seemed a little thoughtful, and that feeling was starting to creep again. It wasn't Katara...something about that room had me on edge.
"Ready?" Teo called.
"No!" Katara responded nervously before leaping with a scream. She fell for a little bit before the hot air currents caught her and lifted her above the clouds. Teo followed, and before long, we could hear Katara's nervous laughter.
I chuckled softly to myself. "Amaya would've flat out refused to do that."
"Really?" Aang asked, looking over to me. "How come?"
"No idea. I just know she would've hated this place. The crabs being the main reason. I don't remember much, but I do know she hated those things."
"Why?" Aang asked, genuinely surprised and confused. "I think they're kinda cute!"
I laughed again. "Yeah, well, maybe we should ask next time we see her, hmm?" I looked back at the temple, and the smile faded somewhat. "Lucky she didn't come, though. I had a hard enough time not setting everything on fire. She would've drowned this place."
Aang frowned slightly. "I'm not happy about it either, but..."
"Amaya tends to feel things in extremes," I explained. "She is either extremely happy or extremely angry. Or she's just...meh."
"Meh?"
"Yeah, meh," At Aang's expression, I chuckled. "Don't worry. I don't get it either."
Aang looked up at them flying around and looked over to me. "I've decided to open that door."
My brows pulled down in a sharp frown. "How come?"
Aang looked at a hermit crab. "I guess it feels like the right thing to do."
That feeling was back in force. "Aang..."
"And because you said something was bothering you about that place," Aang said, looking up at me. "I want to see if there is something in there that the monks left. That might be the reason."
I sighed and nodded. "Ok, your call."
Aang jumped up with his glider, flying up to Katara, and chatted. He looked genuinely happy. Teo landed nearby, and I helped remove the glider part of his chair.
"So Mogui, you're a firebender?"
"What gave it away?" I asked with a slight grin.
"Katara said you don't have any memories, but you remember a friend of yours," Teo said, his eyes shining with innocence. "Your friend must be extraordinary to be the only thing you remember."
I laughed, a full-on stomach clutching laugh. "Extraordinary? Yeah, I guess she is, in a way."
I wiped some tears from my eyes. "She's a little bundle of crazy, who could smile at you while plotting various ways to hurt you, but she's a good person."
"What's her name? Do you know where she is?"
"Her name is Amaya. Right now? She could be anywhere," I shrugged my shoulders. "Why all the interest?"
"I'm just curious," Teo shrugged. "It must be nice to have a friend to rely on when you can't remember much else."
My eyes took on a softer look as I smiled down at Teo.
"That's why I try to be the friend Aang needs me to be. He lost his whole past because of the Fire Nation. I might not be Fire *Nation*, but I still feel a little responsible, so I'm doing everything I can to make things right for him."
Teo grinned at me, and at that moment, Aang landed nearby.
"I've been thinking," Aang said slowly, still with a small smile on his face. "If you wanna see what's in that room, I'd be happy to open the door for you."
"Great!" Teo said, his trademark grin back in place.
"Wait!" Katara called. "How do I land this thing!"
She started to ask questions when she made sudden choking noises.
"Katara, you alright?" I called up to her.
"Blegh! Bug! Bug!" She made more noises. "That was a bug!"
Aang laughed then went up to help Katara navigate back to solid ground.