The episode begins with the gang sitting around a camp site with several other groups, most listening to a man telling a story of 'airbenders'. Tai simply lays on a rock trying to sleep.

"So, travelers. The next time you think you hear a strange, large bird talking, take a closer look. It might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man. A member of a secret group of air walkers, who laugh at gravity, and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!"

The gang and the other travelers surround a small campfire. The Storyteller, having finished his story, is going around collecting coins from the other travelers. Aang smirks. "Aren't airbender stories the greatest?" Talking to Katara and Sokka, who are sitting next to him.

Katara looks to Aang excitedly. "Was it realistic? Is that how it was back then?"

Aang smiles. "I laugh at gravity all the time." He chuckles to himself. "Gravity."

Tai rolls, facing away from Team Avatar, unable to sleep; annoyed. "Maybe you should take a gravity check?"

The Storyteller arrives in front of the gang, having already collected money from the rest of the audience. "Jingle, jingle!" He jingles the hat in front of Sokka, asking for money.

Sokka searches inside his heavy cloak, and manages to pull out a bug, a worm and a few crumbs as Tai tosses in four coins one for each. "Sorry..." Sokka apologizes.

The Storyteller scoffs upset and somewhat downcast. "Aww, cheapskates!" He walks away as Sokka puts the bugs back in his pocket.

Tai deadpans. "I could've been cheaper."

Aang stands up and runs after the storyteller, who is kneeling in front of an old man. "Hey! Thanks for the story."

The Storyteller holds out his cap. "Tell it to the cap, boy." The Storyteller shakes his cap behind him as he kneels in front of an old man. The shaking causes a coin to come loose and fall from the cap. As Aang searches his clothes for some money, Momo picks up the coin and puts it in the cap as the Storyteller turns around. "Aww, much obliged, little bat-thing." He pets Momo on the head.

Aang having given up trying to find a coin. "It means a lot to hear airbender stories. It must have been a hundred years ago your great grandpa met them."

The Storyteller looks at Aang confused. "What are you prattling about, child? Great Grandpappy saw the air walkers last week." He indicates to the old man he was kneeling in front of before. The old man makes a sound in his throat akin to a laugh, and waves a greeting to Aang. The shot cuts to Aang, who has a shocked and disbelieving expression.

The scene changes from the campsite to a shot of clouds, and Appa flying above them.

Aang sits on Appa's neck, steering. He is talking to Katara, Sokka, and Tai, who are riding in Appa's saddle. "Hey, we're almost at the Northern Air Temple. This is where they had the championships for Sky Bison polo."

Katara moves to sit at the back of the saddle with her brother. "Do you think we'll really find airbenders?"

Sokka is whittling a piece of wood. The design is indecipherable. "You want me to be like you, or totally honest?"

Katara crosses her arms, obviously angry with him. "Are you saying I'm a liar?"

Tai facepalms. "Sokka stop poking the bear."

Sokka shrugs, unconcerned with her mood. "I'm saying you're an optimist. Same thing, basically."

Aang shouts, excitedly. "Hey, guys, look at this!"

Appa, flies toward a mountain with a large structure on top. It looks very similar to the Southern Air Temple, with obvious spires reminiscent of a temple's architecture. Around them are several dark specks. The camera zooms in, and the specks are revealed to be people, flying around the temple in plane-shaped contraptions.

"They really are airbenders!" Katara says amazed.

Aang's face falls as he sees the 'airbenders', and after Katara's excited outburst, he leans back and scowls while crossing his arms. "No, they're not."

Sokka stares in awe, exuberantly. "What do you mean "they're not"? Those guys are flying!"

Aang frowns, bitterly. He is glaring at the direction of the people flying around the temple. "Gliding maybe, but not flying. You can tell by the way they move, they're not airbending. Those people have no spirit."

Suddenly, a boy sitting in an oddly shaped chair flies right above them, nearly hitting them, and laughing as he does so.

"I don't know, Aang." Katara points to the boy. "That kid seemed pretty spirited." Katara indicates to the boy, who is flying dangerously close, but still laughing.

Tai sighs. "Oh, you still don't get it."

The boy begins to fly away, shooting Aang one more look back as he does so while grinning. Aang grins devilishly, and opens up his glider to follow the boy. He leaves the others on Appa as Tai scrambles to get Appa to land safely, and they quickly become surrounded by gliders as they get closer to the temple. Several gliders almost hit Appa, which causes Katara to knock into her brother and shout in pain as Appa moves sharply to avoid them.

"We better find some solid ground, before it finds us." Sokka says as Tai is able to land Appa on the temple courtyard, out of the hazardous sky.

Aang is still flying with the boy, and seems to be having fun at the surprise competition.

Several children are on the ground, cheering on their friend. "Go Teo! Show that bald kid how it's done!"

Teo and Aang do two loop-de-loops as they fly around the air temple. The two boys do a spiral downwards.

The boy doesn't seem upset at Aang, and seems happy that he isn't angry for nearly flying into him. "Hey there, you're pretty good!"

Aang, nonchalantly, but with a smirk. "Yeah, I know. But I can do more than fancy gliding." Aang begins flying closer to the temple, under a bridge. Cut to a scene of Aang jumping off his glider and allowing it to fly forward on its own. He begins running along a wall, switching to an air scooter halfway, before jumping off onto his glider again.

(Dude The f*ck. He says he can do more than fancy gliding to a kid who's obviously in a wheelchair and can't walk then immediately starts running)

Teo is looking amazed, before thinking of his own plan. "Wow, I don't think I can do that. But here's a good one." Teo turns on a small canister that is positioned under his glider. White smoke begins to stream from the strange contraption, and Teo flies around in the sky. The camera pans to show the sight from the ground, where it is revealed that he has created an image of Aang's face, complete with an annoyed expression. The crowd below cheers. "What do you think?"

Aang's face mimics the one Teo has just drawn. "It's great."

Aang lands beside Katara and Sokka. Teo lands soon after and pulls on the brakes. Other children take the glider off of the top of his wheel chair. Teo rolls up to Aang.

"Hey, you're a real airbender. You must be the Avatar! That's amazing! I-I've heard stories about you!"

Aang rubs his head, embarrassed. "Thanks."

Sokka ignores all formalities, instead going over to Teo's chair and examining the strange shape and design. "Wow! This glider chair is incredible!"

"You think this is good, wait until you see the other stuff my dad designed." Teo grins.

All five walk inside the building. They enter a room filled with pipes and machinery. Aang looks around worriedly. Beneath the pipes, an original mural can be seen, although it has been destroyed by the pipes, which are sticking into the walls.

"Wow!" Sokka runs up to the machines.

"Yeah, my dad is the mastermind behind this whole place. Everything's powered by hot air." Shows women using an elevator like contraption. "It even pumps hot air currents outside to give us a lift while we're gliding."

"This place is unbelievable." Aang says monotonously.

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Teo smiles.

"No, just unbelievable." Aang walks away.

Katara approaches Teo, who seems disappointed at Aang's reaction. "Aang used to come here a long time ago. I think he's a little shocked it's so ... different."

"So better! Ow!" Tai throws rocks at Sokka's head. "What was that for?!" He turns to Tai, who crosses his arms deadpanning.

Katara walks up to Aang, who is looking at a painted wall with pipes going through it.

"This is supposed to be the history of my people."

Katara puts her hand on his shoulder. He walks over to a fountain with an air bison statue on it. He looks at his reflection in the dirty green water, Aang looks at it squeamishly. The sky bison statue suddenly has black smoke coming out of it's mouth.

"Ugh!"

Katara walks up and puts her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure some parts of the temple are still the same."

Screen pans off to show Aang, Katara, Sokka, Tai and Teo walking across a bridge to a large room that looks well kept. The room has no roof, although around the walls there are statues of monks, mostly meditating.

"It's nice to see that at least one part of the temple that isn't ruined." Aang says. Katara and Aang look at a statue of a long-bearded airbender meditating.

"Look out!"

The statue is knocked down by a wrecking ball and all five cover their heads. Dust is coming from the statue, so all five cough. The dust clears to show six men standing where the statue used to be.

"What the doodle? Don't you know enough to stay away from construction sites? We have to make room for the bathhouse!" A mechanist has approached Aang and the group, looking more surprised than upset.

Aang turns to the mechanist and yells angrily at him. "Do you know what you did!? You just destroyed something sacred! For a stupid bathhouse!"

LWell people around here are starting to stink." The mechanist waves his hand in front of his face, as though trying to dissipate a bad smell.

Aang points at the mechanist. "This whole place stinks!" Using his airbending, Aang flips the crane contraption off of the edge of the building.

Cut to exterior shot, showing the crane falling and landing heavily against the side of the cliff the temple is situated on. It is covered by a cloud of dirt and snow as it is utterly destroyed.

"This is a sacred temple! You can't treat it this way!" Aang walks closer to the mechanist. "I've seen it when the monks were here! I know what it's supposed to be like!"

"The monks? But, [Scratches his beard.] you're twelve."

Teo rolls up. "Dad, he's the Avatar. He used to come here a hundred years ago."

Aang takes a menacing step closer to the mechanist, who takes a step back. "What are you doing? Who said you could be here?"

The Mechanist turns away from Aang. "Hmm, doing here ... A long time ago, [Points finger up.] but not a hundred years, my people became refugees [Walks behind his son's wheelchair.] after a terrible flood. My infant son, [Teo looks down sadly.] Teo, was badly hurt and lost his mother. [Sniffles.] I needed somewhere to rebuild and I stumbled across this place. Couldn't believe it! Everywhere! Pictures of flying people! But empty, [Looks around.] nobody home. Then, [Does a airplane like gesture, like he's flying up to Aang.] I came across these fan-like contraptions!"

"The gliders..." Tai mutters.

"Yes! Little, light flying machines!" He waves his hands up and down. "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 wipes her tears on Aang's shirt, and Sokka looks like he's holding back tears, Tai looks around ponderously. "And, after all, isn't that what nature does?"

"Nature knows where to stop." Aang says.

Tai turns to Aang worriedly. "No, nature does not, look at centibra's. That did not to be made, and yet it does."

(Centipede+Cobra that's an instant nope from me my dudes.)

The Mechanist, like many others, ignore Tai. "I suppose that's true. Unfortunately, progress has a way of getting away from us. Look at the time!" He points at candles. "Come!" He shouts to other workers. "The pulley system must be oiled before dark."

"Wait, how can you tell the time from that thing? The notches all look the same." Sokka asks.

"The candle will tell us. Watch." The Candle pops four times.

"You put spark powder in the candle!" Sokka says amazed.

"Four flashes. So it's exactly four hours past mid-day. Or, as I call it: four o'candle." Sokka laughs. Cut to a frontal shot of the mechanist, pleased that Sokka is interested. "If you like that, wait till you see my finger-safe knife sharpener." He holds up his left hand, revealing that three of the fingers are made of wood. "Only took me three tries to get it right." He pulls off the three wooden fingers, and throws them into Sokka's hand. Sokka screams horrified. The Mechanist pokes Sokka in the back with his one remaining finger and gestures for him to come. "Follow me!" Sokka runs after him.

"Hey, Aang. I want to show you something." Teo says looking to the remaining trio.

Tai turns, shrugging away from everyone. "I'm going to sleep..." He stops to stare Aang and Katara. "Under no circumstances awaken me."

Screen fades to black before reappearing with Katara, Teo and Aang walking inside a building.

"I just can't get over it. There's not a single thing that's the same." Aang says sadly.

"I don't know about that. The temple might be different..." Teo picks up hermit crab from the ground. "...but the creatures that live here..." He hands it to Katara. "...are probably direct descendants of the ones who lived here a long time ago."

Katara pokes the hermit crab. "You're right. They're kind of keepers of the temple's origins." Katara hands it to Aang. It moves around in his hand and he smiles.

"Besides, there's one part of the temple that hasn't changed at all."

Screen fades slightly and reappears at a long hallway with airbending symbols through it. Shows all three looking at a door with an airbending contraption on it.

"Hey, it's just like the one in the other temple!" Katara says.

Teo nods, confidently, with a matter-of-fact tone. "Only an airbender can open it, so inside it's completely untouched. Just the way the monks left it. I've always wondered what it's like in there..."

Katara looks at him, as though slightly scared of his reaction. Her tone is gentle and questioning. "Aang?"

Aang turns away from the door and his friends. "I'm sorry. This is the last part of the temple that's the same as it was. I want it to stay that way."

Teo lols down, somewhat disappointed, although he tries not to let it show. "I completely understand. I just wanted you to know that it's here."

"Thanks." All three start to walk away.

Screen cuts to Sokka and the mechanist walking down a dark stairway holding lanterns.

"These lanterns are terrible. I can't see!" Spokane opens the top of his lantern only to find them filled with fireflies. "Why would you want to use fireflies for light?" One flies out.

"Hey! Close that up! They'll get loose!" Sokka closes it. "Fireflies are a non-flammable light source." Both begin to walk again. They continue for a while until they arrive at a wooden door. "Cover your nose..." Both plug their noses. "...and hold your breath." The mechanist opens an eye slot in the door, both look inside a pitch-black room.

Sokka speaks, his voice nasally, due to his nose being blocked. "Okay ... so you brought me all the way down here to see an empty room."

"Wrong. It's filled to the brim with natural gas. Came across it my first time here. Unfortunately, I was carrying a torch at the time. Nearly blew my self and the whole place even more sky high! Thought my eyebrows would never grow back. Anyway, there's a vital problem that needs solving. From time to time, we have gas leaks. And they're nearly impossible to find."

Sokka's eyes widen. "So, this place is an explosion waiting to happen."

"Yes, until I figure out how to locate something I can't see, hear, smell, or touch."

Cut to a exterior of temple with people flying in the sky. Aang, Katara and Teo are on the ground.

"The wind will carry you. It supports something inside you. Something even lighter than air." Two explains to Katara holding a glider and standing at the edge of a building. "And that something takes over when you fly." Katara puts down her glider and looks up at the other people flying.

Katara looks back nervously. "I've changed my mind. I think I was born without that something."

Teo laughs. "Impossible! Everybody has it!"

Aang grins. "Spirit."

"What?" Teo asks.

"Spirit. That's the something you're talking about."

Teo, hums thoughtfully. "Yeah, I suppose it is.l

Katara stands with the glider in her hands again.

"Are you ready?" Teo asks.

"No! I think I'd rather follow Tai!" Katana jumps off anyway. "Aaaaah!" She starts to fall down wards, but eventually starts to fly straight. Her scream peters off as she begins laughing. "I can't believe I'm flying!
Aang and Momo fly up beside her."

"Just make sure you keep your mouth closed so you don't swallow a bug!" Angels wars, Momo flies by and eating a bug.

"The was right about the air. All I had to do was trust it, let it carry me." Katana says in amazement.

"Even though Teo's not an airbender, he really does have the spirit of one!" Aang lands beside him on the building. "I've been thinking. If you want to see what's in that room, I'd be happy to open the door for you."

"Great!" Teo smiles.

"Wait!" Katara flies by. "How do I land this thing? What if I land over..." She swallows a bug. "...a-ack-ack-bleck! Bug! Bug! Ack, that was a bug!"

Back to Sokka and the mechanist. The mechanist is drawing on a large piece of paper and Sokka is looking through shelves. Sokka drops various things, including seven scrolls, four pieces of paper, a hard-boiled egg and a model of a hot air balloon.

.I said don't touch anything!" The mechanist goes over to help Sokka pick things up. "Oh, don't worry. That experiment's old..." He says referring to the hot air balloon. "...and that egg was just part of last week's lunch."

Sokka sniffs the air before wincing. "Ugh! Week old egg smell!"

"Quick, find that egg!" The pair crawl around the floor looking for it.

Shows Aang, Teo and Katara at the door of the airbending room.

"I can't believe I'm finally going to see what's inside!" Teo says grinning.

Aang airbends into the door's contraption, flipping three dials so air comes out of them. Cut to Sokka and the mechanist searching for the egg.

"How can something so small that you can't even see it make such a big stink!?" Sokka complains

The mechanist looks up from searching. "That's the solution to our problem!"

"Yeah..."Both turn toward each other. "...if we put a whole mess of rotten eggs in the cellar where the gas seeps up..."

"...The gas will mix with the smell of rotten eggs!"

"Then, if there's a leak..."

"...You smell rotten eggs! Then, you just follow your nose to the place where the smell is coming from..."

"And plug up the hole where the gas is escaping!" Sokka cheers.

Both throw up their hands. "You're a genius!" A bell rings on one of his desks.

"Something's wrong." The mechanist stands up. "I've go to go!" He runs out the door and Sokka follows.

Shows Aang, Teo, and Katara walking into the large room. It's filled with Fire Nation weapons, tools and a red hot air balloon with the Fire Nation insignia on it.

"This is a nightmare." Aang stares in disbelief.

The Mechanist walks in with Sokka behind him. "You don't understand!"

Aang turns accusingly, pointing a finger at the mechanist. "You're making weapons for the Fire Nation!"

"You make weapons for the Fire Nation?!" Sokka roars in anger.

"Explain all this! Now!" Teo demands.

The Mechanist is hesitant, but resigned as he begins to explain. "It was about a year after we moved here. Fire Nation soldiers found our settlement. You were too young to remember this, Teo. They were going to destroy everything! Burn it to the ground! I pleaded with them, I begged them to spare us! They asked what I had to offer. I offered ... my services. You must understand. I did this for you!"

Teo looks away in shame and the mechanist leaves. The scene cuts to him in his workshop, placing two eggs with smiley faces in his hot air balloon model, along with a candle to make it float. He looks rather depressed. He lets go of the bottom and it starts to float. As this happens, the door opens, with Aang and Teo standing in the doorway.

"When are they coming?" Aang asks.

"Soon." A candle pops once. "Very soon."

"You can't give them more weapons." Aang crosses his arms.

"If I don't give them what they want, they will destroy this place!" The model of the hot air balloon catches fire and crashes. The mechanist puts the fire out with a cloth.

"How can I be proud of you when your inventions are being used for murder?"

"I need some time to think." A bell rings on his desk. "You need to leave! Go!"

"We're not leaving!" Teo glares.

"Then hide! Quickly!" They hide behind some of his inventions. the mechanist pulls a rope that opens a trapdoor, and a war minister from the Fire Nation is lifted into the room.

"You know better than to keep me waiting. Give me what you owe us so we can be on our way." The mechanist looks down. "Well? Is there a problem?"

Mechanist hurriedly. "No, right this way." He gestures toward the door.

Qin is about to go out the door, but Aang airbends it shut. He jumps in front of the door. "The deal's off."

"The Avatar...!"

"Aang, don't get involved!"

"If I don't get what I came here for, the Fire Nation will burn this place to rubble!"

"Get out of here!" Aang slaps him in the face with an air swipe; continues off screen. "You're leaving empty-handed!"

"Then the destruction of this temple..." Qin points at Aang. "...will be on your head!" He leaves through the trap door and Aang airbends it shut.

The four children are now talking on the tall bridge.

"This is bad." Teo says.

"Very bad!" Sokka practically shouts.

"Aang, what are we going to do? How can we possibly keep them all away?" Katara asks.

"I'll tell you how. We have something they don't." Aang points to the sky. "Air power. We control the sky. That's something the Fire Nation can't do. We can win!"

"I want to help." The Mechanist appears at the door.

Aang nods. "Good. We'll need it."

"We should tell Tai what's going on, where is he anyways?" Sokka asks.

Tai asleep on Appa's saddle snoring obnoxiously loud under several blankets. "That's not going to go well..." Katara mutters.

Cuts to an aerial shot of the temple, before cutting to the mechanist's workshop. He is standing behind a table with Sokka. The model hot air balloon, a few plans, and a candle are resting on the table. Aang, Katara, and Teo are on the other side, surrounded by other colonists.

"We finally got the war balloon working, thanks to Sokka. This boy's a genius!"

"Thank you. You're a genius!"

"Thank you!" Katara and Aang exchange unamused glances.

"See, the problem with the old war balloon was you could get it air-borne..." Sokka places the candle in the model. "...but once it did, it just kept going." He pulls a string connected to the model, putting it on the table. "You could put a hole in the top, but then all the hot air would escape. So the question became, how do you keep a lid on hot air?"

"Ugh, if only we knew." Teo, Katara, and Aang laugh.

"A lid is actually the answer. If you control the hot air, you control the war balloon." Sokka explains.

"Huh, that's actually pretty smart." Katara compliments her brother.

"Okay, we've got four kinds of bombs." Sokka begins listing them off on his fingers. "...smoke, slime, fire, and ..."

"Stink! Never underestimate the power of stink!"

Cut to exterior shot of temple. Everyone is outside, including a very angry Tai, watching anxiously for any sign of the Fire Nation.

"They're coming!" A girl shouts.

"Are we ready?" Teo asks.

Katara nods worried. "Yes. But where's Sokka with the war balloon?"

Aang jumps off Appa. "We'll have to start without it."

Cut to shot of people readying their flying machines for take off. They begin the assault as their gliders fly off into the air. Cheers from the crowd below. Cut to Fire Nation troops climbing the cliff path. They are attacked by the various bombs thrown at them. Cut back to Aang and the other flyers going down through the clouds. The gliders fly over the Fire Nation troops dropping bombs below. Cut to Fire Nation troops on the cliff edge.

"Take them out of the sky. Now!" A captain shouts.

Cut to more gliders dropping bombs. Fire Nation soldiers cough and some fall off the cliff. Cut to Tai as he stands on a cliff and his eyes closed before he takes a breath and slams his feet down and earthbend a full avalanche burying soldiers in snow and earth.

"We've got them on the run! We need more slime!" Aang shouts.

Cut to gliders flying up through the clouds to Appa and receiving more bombs from Katara. Hooks fly through the clouds nearly hitting Appa and latching onto the cliff nearly impaling Tai. Cut to tanks scaling the cliffs via the chains. Aang sees this and manages to remove one hook. The tank falls before sending out another hook. Cut to distance shot of temple with tanks closing in. Gliders continue to fly dropping bombs in an attempt to slow the tanks down. Many cuts to interiors of tanks showing soldiers firebending out of them. Aang lands and airbends the tanks away. The tanks flip over and readjust themselves before continuing on. Tai attempts to fight them firing very accurate small chunks of stone into the openings however he has to wait before he's attacked first before attacking himself. Cut to Katara and Teo in sky.

"Those things are unstoppable!" Katara says.

Teo looks at the contraptions thoughtfully, trying to remember what he knew. "I think I know how they work. I remember my dad tinkering with the counterbalancing system. Something to do with water. Works great, huh?"

"Water? Can you get me close to one?" Katara asks.

Teo grins. "No problem!.

Cut to aerial view of Aang fending off firebending blasts. Cut to Katara landing next to him. Katara freezes multiple tanks with waterbending. Camera zooms out to show more tanks. Aang defends Katara from fire blasts before Appa drops in front and knocks the tanks away. Cut to behind Appa showing Katara and Aang climbing up his tail. Tai remains fighting being the last fighter as he defends and uses his sword to increase his accuracy though the amount starts to overwhelm him. Cut to Aang and Katara looking down at the oncoming force. Cut to the temple balcony with Katara, Aang and Teo.

"We're out of bombs!"

"Come on Sokka. Where's that war balloon?" Katara asks worriedly.

The war balloon appears behind Katara. Cut to wide-view of temple balcony with war balloon in background. Cut to view of soldiers and tanks advancing forward with war balloon above. Cut to view of Sokka and the mechanist on the war balloon.

"Hey, why aren't they shooting at us?" Sokka asks.

"The insignia!" The mechanist looks up to the Fire Nation insignia. "They think we're on their side."

"Then I guess they won't see this coming." Sokka slices rope attached to a large bomb.

"Bombs away!"

Cut to ground view of soldiers being washed away by slime. Cut to above war balloon showing Sokka cut another rope. Cut back to view of soldiers and balloon showing the bombs stopping some of soldiers and tanks. Cut to shot under balloon showing Sokka and the mechanist looking down.

"Oh no, that was the last one." Sokka says as he looks down to the tanks beginning to scale the cliffs.

"Wait a second. You smell that?"

"Rotten eggs!" Sokka and the Mechanist look down from the War Balloon to a large crevice in the ground below. "There! That's where the gas is escaping."

Cut to close-up of Sokka with the expression of having an idea. Cut to tanks scaling cliff side. Cut to Earth Kingdom civilians trying to knock the hooks away. Cut to Sokka and the mechanist on the balloon. Sokka is levering the engine away from the bottom of the balloon in an attempt to get it free.

"What are you doing? That's our fuel source."

"It's the only bomb we've got." Sokka says.

Cut to view below the balloon as the engine drops to the crevice below. Cut to exterior of temple as the army advances on the temple. Cut to a view of Katara, Aang and Teo looking down. Cut to Tai as the machine falls and he smiles now engaged in close combat with soldiers dozens of bodies lay at his feet and blood along his sword the white snow now colored crimson, Cut to Sokka and the mechanist on balloon. Cut to wide-view of the temple and the war balloon in distance. An explosion goes off and the temple is blocked from view. Cut to Sokka and the mechanist on war balloon, smoke covers the view. Cut to Katara, Aang and Teo with smoke again covering the view. Cut to wide shot of temple with smoke dissipating. Cut to chains hanging off the cliffs, no tanks in sight. Cut to balcony and view of cliffs below.

"Look! They're retreating!" Aang announces earning cheers from crowd.

The War balloon flies past. "We're going down!" Sokka shouts.

Aang and Katara on balcony. "No, Sokka! Hold on!" Katara shouts. Aang jumps on his glider and flies toward them.

Cut to view of war balloon falling.

Sokka swings his boomerang around with a rope attached, the mechanist behind him. "Get ready!"

Cut to Aang flying toward them. Cut to behind the war balloon as Aang circles it. Sokka throws the boomerang toward Aang which latches onto his glider. Cut to Sokka and the mechanist being pulled out of the balloon and dragged away with the mechanist moaning in fright. Cut to show war balloon floating away. The scene ends and cuts to the temple.

"You know what?" Aang stands alongside Sokka, Katara, Teo, and the mechanist. "I'm really glad you guys all live here now." Aang picks up a hermit crab. "I realized, it's like the hermit crab." Aang's hands surround the hermit crab. "Maybe you weren't born here, but you found this empty shell and made it your home. And now you protect each other."

"That means a lot, coming from you." Teo smiles.

Sokka grins. "Aang you were right about air power. As long as we've got the skies, we'll have the Fire Nation on the run." Cut to wide-view of temple grounds, crowd cheering.

Tai rubs his eyes. "Please be quiet, sleep is very important to not aging quickly." This causes the rest of team Avatar to laugh.

Cut to panning shot of the people, with the mechanist turning away from the crowd and looking down as though sad. Cut to snowy trees in a forest below the temple. The Fire Nation capturing and figuring out how to use the war balloon.

Qin, surrounded by two other ministers. "This defeat is the gateway to many victories." Cut to behind the Fire Nation soldiers as they begin inflating the balloon up with firebending. Cut to close-up of Fire Nation insignia.

Chapter End