Aya's POV

"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!"

My siblings, Aang, and I were sitting by a campfire with other travelers listening to a storyteller tell a story about airbenders.

"Aren't airbender stories the greatest?" Aang asked us as the storyteller collected money from other travelers.

"Was it realistic? Is that how it was back then?" Katara asked him excitedly."

"I laugh at gravity all the time." Aang said and chuckled to himself. "Gravity."

The storyteller appeared in front of Sokka with a bag. "Jingle jingle."

Sokka rummages through his cloak and pulls out a bug, a worm, and some crumbs.

"Sorry..." Sokka apologized and the storyteller sighed walking away.

"Aw, cheapskates!"

Aang runs after the storyteller who was kneeling in front of an old man.

"Hey. Thanks for the story."

"Tell it to the cap, boy." The storyteller told him, showing him the cap.

Aang searches his clothes for some money and Momo picked up a coin from the ground and placed it in the cap.

The storyteller turned around and petted Momo. "Much obliged, little bat-thing."

"It means a lot to hear airbender stories. It must have been a hundred years ago your great grandpa met them." Aang mentioned.

"What are you pratting about, child?!" The storyteller asked. "Great Grandpappy saw the air walkers last week."

The storyteller gestures to the old man sitting behind him. The man makes a sound and smiles widely at Aang.

——

The following day, Aang wanted to fly to the Northern Air Temple to find more airbenders.

We were all aboard Appa on our way there. I was up front with Aang like usual and my siblings were in the saddle.

"Hey, we're almost at the Northern Air Temple. This is where they had the championships for Sky Bison polo." Aang informed us.

"Do you think we'll really find airbenders?" Katara asked and I turned to my siblings. Sokka was whittling a piece of wood.

"You want me to be like you, or totally honest?" He asked, not really paying attention.

"Are you saying she's a liar?" I asked my brother, with a raised eyebrow.

Sokka shrugs. "I'm saying you both are optimists. Same thing, basically."

I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the front. I gasped lightly when I saw a huge temple at the top of the mountain.

"Hey guys, look at this!" Aang called when he noticed the temple. As we got closer, Katara gasped when she saw people flying in the air.

"They really are airbenders!" Katara gasped with amazement.

Aang leaned back and scowls with his arms folded. "No, they're not."

I was confused. "What do you mean 'they're not?"

"Those guys are flying!" Sokka added.

"Gliding maybe but not flying. You can tell by the way they move, they're not airbending. Those people have no spirit." Aang explained in a bitter tone of voice.

Suddenly, a boy flew by in a oddly shaped chair and sped right over our heads. He let out a laugh of joy as he flew by.

"I don't know Aang, that kid seemed pretty spirited." Katara pointed to the boy that flew by.

Aang grinned devilishly and opened his glider. He jumped into the air and followed the boy.

As we got closer to the temple, a few gliders almost hit us which caused Appa to sharply avoid them and my sister to get flown to the back.

"We better find some solid ground before it finds us." Sokka suggested. "Aya! Lead Appa to solid ground."

"Already on it!" I grabbed the reigns and led Appa to temple so we can land. I landed Appa at the courtyard and saw that Aang was still flying around with the boy in the chair.

I heard the kids cheer the boy in and heard the name 'Teo."

Aang and Teo did two loop-de-loops and did a spiral downwards. We lost sight of them after that for a bit.

Moments later, we saw Teo fly by with smoke coming out of his glider. He flew around in a formation in the sky and after a moment it was revealed to have created Aang's face with an annoyed expression. The crowd cheered at Teo's trick.

After they were both done, Aang landed next to us and Teo lands soon after that. Children help disable the contraption and Teo rolls over to us.

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

Aang rubbed his head, bashfully. "Thanks."

Sokka goes over to Teo's chair and examines it. "Wow! This glider chair is incredible!"

"If you think this is good, wait until you see the other stuff my dad designed." Teo told him before he rolled away. We followed Teo inside the temple and we walked into a room filled with pipes and machinery.

It was quite impressive to say the least, but I know this is nature and is probably bad for the environment. I know the temple didn't look like this a hundred years ago.

Behind all the pipes and machinery, I spotted a dusty mural behind them. I looked at Aang and he seemed worried and I didn't blame him for feeling that way.

Sokka was astonished by all the machinery. "Wow!"

"Yeah, my dad is the mastermind behind this whole place. Everything's powered by hot air." Teo explained and gestured to a woman who used an elevator with hot air. "It even pumps hot air currents outside to give us a lift while we're gliding."

"This place is unbelievable." Aang spoke in a monotone voice.

"It really is something." I said with a nervous chuckle.

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

"No, just unbelievable." Aang shook his head and walked away.

Teo looked disappointed by Aang's reaction and I went up to Teo.

"Aang used to come here a long time ago. I think he's a little shocked it's so ... different." I explained.

"So better." Sokka exclaimed.

My sister and I approached the Avatar who was staring at the mural behind the pipes.

"This is supposed to be the history of my people." Aang spoke and walked over to a fountain with a sky bison on it. I noticed his expression and he seemed squeamish by the green water in the fountain. Suddenly, the sky bison opened it's mouth and black smoke came out of it.

"Ugh!" Aang groaned and I went up to him and placed my hand on his shoulder for reassurance.

"I'm sure some parts of the temple are still the same." Katara assured him.

Afterwards, we walked along a bridge to a large circular room. The room had no roof and the walls had statues that were meditating.

"It's nice to see that at least one part of the temple isn't ruined." Aang spoke with relief.

As we were admiring the monk that sat in front of us, we heard a loud call from behind.

"Look out!"

Aang, Katara, Teo, Sokka, and I shielded ourselves from the dust and rubble that got destroyed. All of us cough before we looked up and saw six men standing where the statue was with a wrecking ball hanging above them.

"What the doodle? Don't you know enough to stay away from construction sites? We have to make room for the bathhouse!" A mechanist with an eyeglass warned us.

Aang turns to the mechanist with an angry expression. "Do you know what you did!? You just destroyed something sacred! For a stupid bathhouse!"

One way to upset Aang, don't mess with any sacred airbending statues.

"Well, people around here are starting to stink." The mechanist pointed out and waved his hand in front of his face.

Aang flares and points at him. "This whole place stinks!"

Using his airbending, Aang flips the crane off the edge of the temple. I knew Aang was mad so I gently grabbed his shoulder and he took a breath.

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

"The monks?" The mechanist questioned, scratching his beard. "But you're twelve."

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

The mechanist is Teo's father. Good to know.

Aang took a menacing step forward causing Teo's dad to lean back.

"What are you doing?! Who said you could be here?!"

Teo's dad averts his eyes. "Hmm, doing here ... A long time ago, but not a hundred years, my people became refugees after a terrible flood." Teo's dad walks behind his son's wheelchair. "My infant son,Teo, was badly hurt and lost his mother. I needed somewhere to rebuild and I stumbled across this place. Couldn't believe it! Everywhere! Pictures of flying people! But empty, nobody home." He started to do an airplane gestured toward Aang who was unamused. "Then, I came across these fan-like contraptions!"

Aang glared. "Our gliders."

"Yes! Little, light flying machines!" Teo's dad expressed, waving 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." I cleared my throat and held back tears that were trying to escape. Katara wiped her tears on Aang's clothes. Sokka looked away. "And, after all, isn't that what nature does?

"Nature knows where to stop." Aang remarked, approaching Teo's dad.

"I suppose that's true. Unfortunately, progress had a way of getting away from us." Teo's dad looked up and pointed at something. "Look at the time!" I looked over and saw three candles two small and one big. "Come! The pulley system must be oiled before dark."

"How can you tell the time from that thing?" I asked Teo's dad with confusion.

"The notches all look the same." Sokka added.

"The candle will tell us. Watch." Teo's dad told us. Seconds later, the middle candle popped four times.

I rose an eyebrow, impressed. Using spark powder is smart.

"You put spark powder in the candle!" Sokka remarked.

"Four flashes. So it's exactly four hours past mid-day. Or, as I call it: four o'candle." Sokka laughed at his joke. "If you like that, wait till you see my finger-safe knife sharpener." He held his hand up to reveal that three of his fingers are made of wood. "Only took me three tries to get it right." He tossed Sokka his wooden fingers and he yelled in fear.

"Ahh!"

"Follow me!"

Sokka jogged after Teo's dad.

"Hey Aang, I want to show you something." Teo told Aang.

——

Teo lead the three of us through a dark building.

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

Teo stopped. "I don't know about that. The temple might be different but-" Teo picked up a small hermit crab from the ground and I smiled at the sight. He handed me one and I adored it, "the creatures that live are probably descendants of the ones who lived here a long time ago."

I poked the hermit crab and he sunk into his shell and I giggled. Katara inched the crab's back.

"You're right. They're kind of keepers of the temple's origins." Katara stated. I handed Aang the hermit crab. Aang grinned at the adorable creature.

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

Teo lead us down a long hallway and we stood at a door that was similar to the door at the Southern Air Temple.

"Hey, it's just like the one in the other temple." I pointed out.

"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." Teo explained to us with a look of wonder.

Katara and I look at the airbender for confirmation and he looks down.

"Aang?"

"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." Aang apologized.

Teo nodded. "I completely understand. I just wanted you to know that it's here."

"Thanks." Aang said before we walked away from the door.

——

Outside, Katara and I stood at the edge of the temple with gliders in our hands. Teo convinces is to gliding and I was a bit terrified to be honest, but I'm willing to try.

"The wind will carry you. It supports something inside you. Something even lighter than air. And that something takes over when you fly." Teo explained to us and Katara put down her glider.

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

"You can do it, Katara. You got this." I encouraged my sister.

Teo laughed. "Impossible! Everybody has it!"

"Spirit." Aang said and we looked at him.

"Huh?" Teo said.

"That's the something you're talking about." Aang continued.

Teo smiles thoughtfully. "Yeah, I suppose it is."

Katara and I readied our gliders.

"Ready?" Teo asked us.

"Katara? Are you ready?" I asked my nervous sister.

"No!" She said. "You go first."

I shrugged and jumped off the edge. I let out a yell as I fell but my glider caught wind and I was gliding. I let out a laugh of joy. I love this.

I heard my sister yell and moments later I heard chuckling. I saw my sister come up beside me and Teo was behind us.

"I can't believe I'm flying!" I exclaimed in excitement.

"Me too!" Katara added.

Aang appeared next to us. "Just make sure you keep your mouth closed so you don't swallow a bug."

Momo flew by and ate a bug.

"Teo was right about the air. All I had to do was trust it, let it carry me." Katara spoke and I nodded.

"Even though Teo's not an airbender, he really does have the spirit of one!" Aang spoke before he flies down and lands back on the temple ground.

I smiled and watched Aang as he flew down and I looked back at my sister who was giving me a smirk.

"What?" I asked her.

"You like him, don't you?" She asked and I averted my eyes feeling my cheeks heat up.

"No..."

"I see the way you look at him and he looks at you the same way. It's obvious, Aya." Katara grinned.

I rolled my eyes and thought of something to change the subject. "Wait! How do we land these things?!"

"Yeah! How do we land thes things!? What if I land a-ack-ack-bleck!" I looked over and saw Katara choking on a bug. I laughed at her. "Bug! Bug! Ack, that was a bug!"

Later, after the gliding, Teo brought us back to the door with the ornate locks on it. Aang agreed to open it for him.

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

Aang bends air into the ornate locks and the three dials flip over so air pours out of them.

The door opens and we walked inside. I gasped quietly at what I saw. The room was filled with Fire Nation supplies and had a hot air balloon in the middle with the Fire Nation symbol on it.

"Oh my gosh..." I mumbled in shock.

"This is a nightmare." Aang stated.

"You don't understand!" Teo's dad protested from behind us.

Aang turned around and pointed an scudding finger at him. "You're making weapons for the Fire Nation!?"

Aang slowly put himself in front of me and I grabbed his shoulder.

"You make weapons for the Fire Nation?!" Sokka questioned, angrily.

"Explain all this! Now!" Teo demanded his father.

Teo's dad was hesitant but explained. "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 looked away in shame and his father leaves in regret and shame.

——

Teo and Aang went to talk with Teo's father. The Fire Nation was on their way and we had to be ready for battle.

My siblings and I stood on the bridge waiting for Aang and Teo to return. Once they did, we discussed the situation.

"This is bad." Teo said.

"Very bad." Sokka emphasized.

I don't get why people have to point out the obvious sometime.

"Aang, what are we going to do? How could we possibly keep them all away?" Katara asked bewildered.

I glanced up at the sky and got an idea. "The sky."

"What?" Katara asked.

"Aya's right. We have something they don't have." Aang pointed up at the sky. "Air power. We control the sky. That's something the Fire Nation can't do. We can win!"

"I want to help."

We turned to see Teo's dad standing there at the end of the bridge.

"Good. We'll need it."

Everyone in the temple huddled inside Teo's dad's workshop. Sokka and him are standing behind the table as the rest of us stood in front of it.

"We finally got the war balloon working, thanks to Sokka. This boy's a genius!" Teo's dad praised my brother who was flattered.

"Thank you! You're a genius."

"Thank you!"

Katara, Aang, and I share unamused looks.

"See, the problem with the old war balloon was you could get it air-borne, but once it did, it just kept going." Sokka explained and placed a candle into the middle of the model balloon and it floated into the air and he pulled it back down to 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." Katara joked causing Aang, Teo and I to laugh.

"A lid is actually the answer. If you control the hot air, you control the war balloon." Sokka continued his explanation, demonstrating his tactic on the model ballon.

We were all impressed by my brother's idea.

"Impressive, Sokka." I nodded and he grinned.

"That's actually pretty smart." Katara agreed.

"Okay, we've got four kinds of bombs. Smoke, slime, fire, and-"

"Stink!" Teo's dad finished. "Never underestimate the power of stink!"

I smiled in amusement when I thought of Sokka and his dirty clothes and socks. Never underestimate your brother's stinking clothes.

We all rushed outside and waited for a sign of the Fire Nation.

After s few moments a young girl warned us that they were coming.

"Are we ready?" Teo asked us.

"Yes, but where's Sokka with the war balloon?" I questioned with worry.

Aang hopped off Appa and opened his glider. "We'll have to start with out it."

Aang, Teo, and a bunch of other gliders flew into the sky. The gliders and Aang were gonna drop bombs on the Fire Nation army.

Katara and I boarded Appa and we flew to a safe place to hand out bombs to the gliders.

"We've got them on the run! We need more slim!" Aang announced and my sister, Momo, and I handed a few gliders some slime bombs.

Out of no where, hooks fly through the clouds nearly hitting Appa. My sister and I shriek in fear almost flying off but thankfully we stayed on and Appa dodged all of the hooks that were being shot up.

As we flew away, Aang, Teo, and the gliders fly over our heads. Tanks slowly climbed up the wall.

Aang sees this and manages to remove a hook from the mountain but another hook shoots out from the tank and it latches back onto the mountain.

Gliders attempt to take out the tanks with bombs but that didn't harm the tanks at all. Aang lands and airbends the tanks away but they just flip over and readjusts themselves. Aang continues to fight the tanks.

"Those things are unstoppable!" Katara exclaimed.

"I think I know how they work. I remember my dad tinkering with the counterbalancing system. Something to do with water. Works great, huh?" Teo explained giving us a smile at the end.

"Water?" I mumbled.

"Can you get me close to one?" Katara asked

"No problem." Teo nodded.

I stayed on Appa and watched from above. I wouldn't be able to help in this situation, my daggers wouldn't do much here. Katara got a lift from Teo so she could help Aang and she landed next to the airbender. Using her waterbending, she freezes the tanks and breaks one in the process. With the help of Aang, Katara freezes another tank and broke it.

Approaching the two benders were more tanks and Aang jumped in front of Katara to defend her. He blocked each fire blast and I knew he was having trouble so I flew Appa down and landed in front of Aang. Appa head butted the tanks and knocked them down. Katara and Aang climbed onto Appa and he took off. The three of us looked back at the tanks and saw more of them approaching us.

We landed back on the temple ground with Teo.

"We're out bombs." Teo expressed.

"Come on, Sokka. Where's that war balloon?" Katara aske with worry.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a huge red balloon and we turned to find Sokka and Teo's dad inside the war balloon with four gigantic bombs hanging down.

I smiled happily at the sight.

Sokka and Teo's dad dropped the bombs on the tanks and Fire Nation soldiers but they had more oncoming force.

Minutes had passed and nothing happened. The four of us waited anxiously to see what would happen until a huge explosion and smoke covered the place like an avalanche. The four of us shielded our faces from the massive explosion.

The smoke vanished and we saw the Fire Nation soldiers were retreating since the tanks were gone and they had no hope in winning.

"Look! Their retreating!" Aang announced and we all cheered.

The war balloon zips by. "We're going down!"

I gasped. "Sokka!"

"Sokka, hold on!" Katara shouted. Aang jumps onto his glider and flies toward them.

Aang returned with Sokka and Teo's dad and I was relieved.

——

Later that day, we were all standing outside the temple in the courtyard.

"You know what? I'm really glad you guys all live here now." Aang began and picked up a hermit crab. "I realized, it's like 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."

I smiled sweetly at Aang. I'm glad Aang is at peace with this whole situation.

"That means a lot, coming from you." Teo told him and gave him a soft smile.

"Aang, you were right about air power. As long as we've got the skies, we'll have the Fire Nation on the run." Sokka mentioned and everyone here cheered. Aang grinned happily and I gave him a side hug. I saw Aang's cheeks flash the color pink and mine turned the same color.

——

Another chapter done and one chapter closer to the season finale. I was rushing to get this one done because I'm very anxious to get to the last three chapters because I have a huge secret that I want to reveal and I'm so exited about it. It involves Aya obviously.

Questions. Aang and Aya's ship name. Ideas please? It's difficult to come up with one for them idk why.

If Aya were to get a pet, how does a Koalaotter sound? I saw it appear in The Waterbending Master and I absolutely adore it and it seems like the perfect pet for Aya. Cute and tiny haha.

Can't wait to publish the last few chapters and get onto book 2💕