Chapter 3

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Word count 2872 words

(Y/n) POV

We were all on Appa trying to find the Southern Air Temple. I was kinda scared to see Aang's reaction to be honest.

He seemed fine with me after we escaped Zuko, but I don't know how he will react later.

I know we don't fully know if all the airbenders are gone, but you never know.

I look over to my brother who's clutching his stomach as it growled, "Hungry?" I chuckled.

He glared at me before talking to his stomach, "Hey, stomach? Be quiet, all right? I'm trying to find us some food"

"It's not going to listen to you" I chuckled.

"It's not going to listen to you" he mimicked me.

I stuck my tongue out in response.

I looked forward and we saw a glimpse of a mountain, "The Patola Mountain range! We're almost there!" Aang smiled.

"Aang, before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders" Katara told him, causing me to sit up and scotch closer towards the conversation.

"What about 'em?" He cheerfully asked.

I sighed, "We just want you to be prepared for what you might see. I may be cool, but the rest of the Fire Nation is ruthless"

Katara sighed clutching our mothers necklace, "They killed my mother, and they could have done the same to your people"

I was always jealous of Katara for reviving that necklace. Don't get me wrong I love her, but she's always received more attention than me.

As kids mom would often be with her rather than me. I don't blame her though. Father and the council made it clear I was a monster to be feared.

"Just because no one has seen an airbender, doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped!" Aang reassured us.

"I know it's hard to accept" Katara placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't understand, Katara. The only way to get to an airbender temple is on a flying bison, and I doubt the Fire Nation has any flying bison! Right Appa?" He asked his bison.

My sister and I glanced at each other.

"Aang... just please don't hold me accountable for any-"

"There it is. The Southern Air Temple" he cut me off as we saw a temple in the distance.

Our eyes widened at the beautiful sight, "Aang, it's amazing!"

He smiled, "We're home, buddy! We're home" he told his fluffy boy.

We quickly landed at the base of snow covered stairs and Aang immediately ran up them and out of earshot.

"So where do I get something to eat?" Sokka asked.

Katara rolled her eyes, "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?"

"Are you serious surprised?" I chuckled, "It's Sokka"

"Hey! I'm just a simple guy, with simple needs" he defended himself.

"Simple alright" I muttered.

"Hey!"

We make it up to where Aang is and he excitedly points to a weird section covered in wooden posts, "So that's where my friends and I would play airball," he points to a giant slab. "and over there is where the bison would sleep, and..." he trails off.

Katara walks forward, "What's wrong?"

He looked at us with a small glint in his eye, "This place used to be full of monks and lemurs and bison. Now there's just a bunch of weeds," he sighed. "I can't believe how much things have changed"

"So uh, this airball game. How do you play?" Sokka asked changing the topic to a lighter one.

Aang smiles.

———————

Katara and I watch as the boys are both on the court.

Sokka looked terrified while standing on a pole and guarding the goal.

Aang smirks and lets the ball roll over his shoulders, tosses it from side to side and lazily tosses it up in the air. He looks and smiles innocently at Sokka with his hands behind his back.

"This is gonna end badly" I whispered to my sister.

"Yeah right" she chuckled.

The airbender jumps up and kicks the ball away with a powerful air swipe. It rapidly shoots across the poles, changing direction as it crashes into several poles, but steadily moving closer toward Sokka's goal.

The ball races quickly toward him and before he knew it, the back smashes him through the goal and he smashed into the snowy ground.

"Seven to zero!" I shouted chuckling.

"Um Katara? (Y/n)?" Sokka called us over.

We walked over to see a Fire Nation solider helmet, "Oh shit" I gasped.

"We should tell him" Sokka told him.

Katara nodded, "Aang! There's something you need to see"

Aang shot up, "Okay!" The only problem was that the moment he came over, Katara swiped the snow on top of us covering both the helmet and us.

"Hey!" I yelled as the snow melted off of me.

"What is it?" Aang asked.

"Uh... Just a new waterbending move I learned! And look (Y/n) is able to melt it without moving"

Hey don't bring me into this!

"Nice one! But enough practicing, we have a whole temple to see!" He motioned is to follow him.

Sokka and I got back up, "You know, you can't protect him forever," he told her. "Firebenders were here. You can't pretend they weren't"

"He's gonna find out eventually. It's better to rip the bandaged off before it's infected," I crossed my arms. "Let him learn before he blames me for it" I walked at a faster pace then them.

"He won't blame you (Y/n)" Katara told me.

"You didn't do anything wrong" Sokka finished.

"Wouldn't be the first time" I sighed walking over toward Aang.

"Hey guys! I want you to meet somebody!" He shows us a golden statue of an old monk.

"Who's that?" Sokka asked.

"I love his necklace" I pointed towards it.

Katara gave me a look, "What? I like jewelry" I told her.

"Monk Gyatso! He taught me everything I know"

"I've heard about him before," I smiled. "He was considered the greatest airbender in the world" I explained.

They all turned to me, "How did you know that?"

I raised a brow, "I read?" I chuckled, "What do you think I did while hunting?"

When your forced to hunt all day, practicing my bending gets tiring. So I read books when I needed a break.

Only problem is I read a lot!

We looked back at Aang who started to sulk. Katara walked towards him, "You must miss him"

"Yeah" he sighed walking away.

"Where are you going?" Katara asked.

"The air temple sanctuary. There's someone I'm ready to meet" he told us.

We all walked inside the temple I felt out of place.

"Aang... no one could have survived in there for a hundred years" Katara told him.

"It's not impossible. I survived in the iceberg for that long" he told us.

I raised a brow, "But you were in an iceberg... you literally were frozen in time" I exclaimed.

We stopped at a door and he turned to us, "(Y/n), whoever's in there might help figure out this Avatar thing!"

I shrugged, "Ok dude"

"And whoever's in there might have a medley of delicious cured meats!" My brother drooled.

I rolled my eyes before looking back to Aang, "I don't suppose you have a key?" I pointed to the door.

He smiled, "The key, (Y/n), is airbending" he said blowing a giant gust of wind at the door opening it, in a very complex manner.

"Huh," I nodded. "That was overly complicated"

We entered the dark room and I opened my palm making a light source for us.

We continued to look around until we saw... statues. Lots and lots of statues.

"Statues? That's it? Where's the meat?" Sokka groaned.

"Who are all these people?" Katara asked.

"I'm not sure. But it feels like I know them somehow. Look!" He pointed to a statue of a girl, "That one's an airbender"

"And this one's a waterbender" Katara pointed to a male statue.

I walked around and noticed something, "They're lined up in a pattern. Air, water, earth and fire"

"That's the Avatar Cycle" Aang smiled.

I smiled, "Of course. They're Avatars. All these people are your past lives, Aang"

He looked around the entire room, "Wow! There are so many!"

"Past lives?" He scoffed, "(Y/n), I thought you didn't believe in that stuff?"

"Well did you see him beat Zuko yesterday?" I raised a brow, "I've read stories about the Avatar to Katara all the time as a kid. When the Avatar dies, he's reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle" I explained.

I stopped next to Aang and we both looked at the last statue, "Who is that?" I asked looking at the Fire Nation get up.

"That's Avatar Roku. The Avatar before me" he told us.

Sokka gasped, "You were a firebender? No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met"

I shot him a look, "Sorry (Y/n)"

I rolled my eyes in response.

"There's no writing. How do you know his name?" Katara asked.

Aang shrugged, "I'm not sure. I just know it somehow"

Sokka glanced at him, "You just couldn't get any weirder" so I slapped the back of his head.

"Hey! You b-" he stopped himself as we heard a small patter of feet.

"Firebender. Nobody make a sound" Sokka state's before we all hid behind Aang's past lives.

"You're making a sound!" I loudly whispered glaring at him.

"Shhhh!" They all shushed me.

"Oh you did not just shush me!"

Sokka rolled his eyes and pulled out his boomerang, "That firebender won't know what hit him"

I put my hand up and re-lit a flame in my hand, "We don't know if it's a firebender. I'll handle this"

I turn to the shadow which has reached the bases of the statues and reveals a small figure standing in the doorway; it chitters.

"A lemur?" I tilted my head extinguishing my blue flame.

"Lemur!" Aang gasped.

"Dinner!" Sokka yelled.

The lemur pricks his ears and slightly tilts his head, "Don't listen to him. You're going to be my new pet!" Aang told it.

"That seems a little forward" I raised a brow, but he ignored me. Rude.

"Not if I get him first!" Sokka lunged after the animal but it scurried away.

"Wait! Come back!" Aang ran after it.

"I want to eat you!" Sokka chased the animal.

I sighed, "Sokka! I swear to the moon spirit if you hurt that animal!" I ran after them.

We all slid around the corner and give chase. Sokka passes Aang and shoves him back. I follow close behind waiting to laugh at the first one to fall.

Sokka runs into the lead, until pulls up next to him again. So Sokka being the annoying alpha male that he is takes out his club and takes a swing at Aang's legs.

"Hey! Friendly game!" I shout.

Aang nimbly avoids the club and uses his airbending to run on the side of the wall, laughing loudly with amusement.

I laughed as well, not ashamed.

The airbender runs on the floor again. He quickly turns around and directs on airball at Sokka, which knocks his legs from underneath him. Sokka flips in the air before smacking face first on the ground, his hood falling over his head while he lands.

I continued to follow Aang running after him as he ran into a room, but stop dead in my tracks.

My eyes widened seeing a hoard of Fire Nation armour, and the remains of Aang's teacher Monk Gyatso.

—————————

(Third person) POV

Zhao's enters a tent where Iroh and Zuko we're sitting inside, "My search party is ready. Once I'm out to sea, my guards will escort you back to your ship and you'll be free to go" he smirked at the banished prince.

"Why? Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?" Zuko spat.

Zhao began to violently laugh, "You? Stop me? Impossible"

The prince got up enraged, "Don't underestimate me, Zhao! I will capture the Avatar and the blue firebender before you!"

Iroh pot up as well, "Prince Zuko, that's enough"

Zhao smirked, "You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of war ships under my command and 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 Avatar and that girl to my father, he will welcome me home with honor, and restore my rightful place on the throne!"

"If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation"

—————————

(Y/n) POV

"Gyatso" Aang cried.

I walked forward putting a hand on his shoulder, "I'm so sorry Aang. Come on, everything will be all right. Let's get out of here"

Suddenly, Aang's arrow tattoos begin to glow a bluish white.

Well, this is not what I expected.

A whirlwind begins to form. As the wind kicks away all the fire nations bones.

The wind becomes even stronger and I started to be pushed back. I held out my hands blocking my face, "Aang! Come on! Snap out of it!"

Suddenly, the air sphere around Aang expands and sending me flying backward hitting the wall.

I screamed in pain as I saw my brother and sister run in.

"What happened?" She shouted.

"He found out firebenders killed Gyatso! And I fear for my life!" I cried in pain.

"Oh no! It's his Avatar Spirit! He must have triggered it! I'm going to try and calm him down!" She told me.

"Wait! I have an idea!" I yelled.

Sokka sighed, "Well, do it! Before he blows us off the mountain!"

I sighed, "Aang! I know you're upset and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. We went through the same thing when we lost our mother. I know I'm probably not the one to tell you this because I'm a monster like they are, but we are not all bad people. Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but you still have a family. Sokka and Katara! If you'll accept them..... accept me. We can be your family now!"

Aang slowly sated to lower before falling to the ground.

We immediately ran over towards him.

"The girls and I aren't going to let anything happen to you. Promise" Sokka promised him.

Aang looked like he was going to cry, "I'm sorry"

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault" Katara reassured him.

"But you were right. And if the firebenders found this temple, that means they found the other ones, too. I really am the last airbender" he sighed.

I couldn't take it and left the room. My people were sick, I know I'm not.... but he probably thinks I am.

———————

I made my way back to Appa and when they all joined me, I saw the lemur on Aang's shoulder.

"So you decided to not eat it?" I smirked at my brother.

He shrugged, "It gave me food"

"So it domesticated you?"

"Yes... wait no!"

I smirked before turning to Aang, "I've made up my mind about this quest"

"What?" He tilted his head.

"You can drop me off at the next village we find. I'll be able to travel unharmed to a fire nation colony and will be out of your way," I crossed my arms leaning against Appa. "You don't have to worry about a firebender anymore"

"Why would you say that?!" Katara gasped.

"Your family!" Sokka finished.

"I'm a firebender. I'm not meant to be part of your family"

Aang didn't say anything, he just came forward and hugged me, "Uhhh Aang?"

A moment later he pulled away from the hug and I felt something around my neck. I looked down to see Monk Gyatso's necklace.

My eyes widened, "Aang! I can't accept this!"

"You can" he smiled.

"But.. I'm-"

"Family. Your part of my family" he told me.

"What?"

"I know firebender's did and are still doing bad things, but that doesn't mean all of them. You've been nothing but nice to me and I don't want to blame you for something you never did. You never asked to be born like this, and neither did I. I want you to be part of my family"

I dropped my guard for the first time. Family. All my life I was to act like I was part of one, when in reality I wasn't.

He just gave me a belonging of someone very close to him, just like that.

I started to tear up before a stream came poring down. I pulled him in for a long hug.

"Is (Y/n) crying?!" Sokka gasped.

"I think so" Katara's eyes widened.

"I'm scared"

"Me too"

"I'm not crying! I'm tear bending!"

I had a family. I actually had a family! And this time I'm not letting them leave.

•••