Once Monk Gyatso finished giving me a very stern lecture, with the assistance of nearly every elder minus Iio since another elder was tending to her, we all returned to speaking about the plan to defend the Air Temple and, in the worst case, preserve the Air-Nomad heritage.
"So, since we intend to send off the young and inexperienced Air Nomads, we will need a few masters to guide and protect them to ensure we don't die off." Said an Elder from the Nothern Air Temple as he glanced at the others, seeking their input.
"I suggest we have at least one Elder from each Air Temple to accompany them on the journey." Remarked an Elder from the Eastern Air Temple as she glanced at the previous elder while several others nodded in agreement.
"I'll join them from the Southern Air Temple… Any other volunteers?" Asked Hitsugaya softly as he raised his hand, causing Pasang, Gyatso, Tashi, and Jun to furrow their brows, though they didn't attempt to dissuade him.
"I-I'll go." Said Iio lightly as she thanked the elder beside her before adorning a solemn expression, causing the others to nod.
"I shall join, as well." "I'll shoulder this duty." Said two Elders, one from the Western and the other from the Northern Air Temple, as they both raised their hands, causing everyone to nod.
"Now then… When shall they depart on their journey?" Asked an Elder as she glanced between Hitsugaya, Iio, and the two other Elders who had willingly shouldered the heavy duty of preserving their heritage.
"I suggest in a few days, as it's believed a storm will pass by, we could use that chance to conceal themselves from sentries the Fire Nation may have placed at the base of the Temple." Stated an Elder with furrowed brows as he glanced at the previous elder while the others shared their input.
While the Elder's spoke amongst each other, I remained silent and calmly listened, curious what their decision would be, though in the end, they decided to follow through with the plan of using the storm as a way to conceal themselves. After that, they spent another hour talking about how they would inform everyone without the Fire Nation learning, though that was rather easy, just a tedious process.
Once everything was over, the council disbanded and exited the room, heading in different directions to further strategize with the air-bending masters from their respective temples, leaving just me and Monk Gyatso as we quietly sat side-by-side.
"Aang." Said Gyatso softly as he glanced at Aang to his right, causing him to nod with a weary expression.
"You're not going to lecture me again, are you?" Asked Aang as he gave Gyatso a hesitant look, prompting him to lightly shake his head before gently grasping his shoulder.
"No. Aang, listen, I-I… I think it's best if you go with Hitsugaya and the three other Elders during the storm. As the Avatar, we cannot afford to have you of all people perish." Stated Gyatso solemnly as he stared deeply into Aang's eyes, causing him to furrow his brows.
I didn't respond to Monk Gyatso and merely nodded before standing up and distancing myself from him, only to turn around once I reached the opposite side of the room; clasping my hands, I slightly bowed to him before entering one of the many Baguazhang stances, causing him to sigh.
"Aang, no. Not right now." Said Gyatso with a shake of his head as he eyed Aang, who merely raised an eyebrow but didn't so much as move a muscle and patiently waited for him.
After a few minutes, Monk Gyatso released a deep sigh before slowly standing up and entering a similar stance as me; seeing that he was ready, I didn't hesitate and attacked first. Collecting a bunch of wind with my movements, I thrust my palms forward, launching a strong gust of wind right toward him, causing him to frown as he waved his hands, dispelling my attack, which was only expected from the arguably the strongest air bender. However, even so, I didn't let up and attacked with even more force as I slid my feet on the ground before kicking my feet upwards, only to kick it down once more, launching two more attacks that were even stronger than a previous one.
Again, Monk Gyatso used his masterful technique to divert my powerful blows, though I had forced him to take a few steps back, which finally prompted him to attack as he swiped his palms to me. Using his attack to strengthen my own, I hurled a mighty blast of wind right for him, which was simply undodgeable while in such an enclosed space, causing him to twirl his arms, creating a spherical vortex around himself that behaved as a sort of buff to lessen the impact, yet even still, it blasted open the stone doors behind him and sent flying through the air.
Swiftly following behind him, I watched him gracefully land on the ground, yet I didn't ease up and continued to relentlessly attack him, refusing to give him a moment rest, which was unlike me; I normally wasn't this aggressive, but I needed to show him something. With every attack of mine, it continued to grow with strength, forcing Monk Gytaso into a defensive position while I gave him no chance to retaliate, yet even so, he was still holding his own, granted I was still forcing him back.
"A-Aang, there is no need for this." Said Gyatso lightly with a slight frown as he gazed at Aang, whose expression simply hardened while his attacks only increased in intensity.
Eventually, it reached a point where Monk Gyatso could no longer hold on, and while he may have had plentiful experience and masterful technique, I simply proved to be too much for even him to contend against.
Forcing him to stumble, I closed my fists before twirling my body, creating a horizontal vortex that powerfully surged toward him and launched him into the sky; however, before he hit the ground, I cushioned his fall and gently lowered him to the ground.
"I will be staying to protect my home, Monk Gyatso." Stated Aang calmly as he glanced at Gyatso before clasping his hands and bowing, causing him to close his eyes and sigh.
"I was worried this would happen." Muttered Gyatso with an exhausted expression as he faced the sky before taking a deep breath.
"Aang, as the Avatar, you have a du-" Added Gyatso as he opened his eyes and glanced at Aang, who promptly interrupted him.
"I do not care about that stuff right now. I'm an Air Nomad, and my home is in danger… I will stay behind to protect it, or I will die trying." Declared Aang sternly as he eyed Gyatso, who deeply sighed once more.
"Besides, even if I happen to die… Another Avatar would be born and would, therefore, take my place. I'm sure some of my past incarnations wouldn't mind if that happened." Added Aang calmly while quietly whispering the last part to himself, causing Gyatso to shake his head.
"Haa, well… I don't like your decision, but there isn't anything I can do. I clearly can't force you to do so, and as an Air Nomad, you have the right to protect your home." Remarked Gyatso as he looked up at Aang, who faintly smiled, causing him to sigh once more before chuckling.
"Now, if you'd be so kind as to help this old man up after humiliating me. Getting beaten by a 12-year-old… My reputation is forever ruined." Said Gyatso with a small smile as he glanced at Aang, who did as he was told while speaking sarcastically.
"Just say it was the Avatar; most should understand." Remarked Aang with a slight smirk as he assisted Gyatso onto his feet, causing him to chuckle with a nod.
"Hoho, that's not a bad idea." Muttered Gyatso with a slight smile as he rubbed his chin while Aang's expression twitched, only for him to shake his head.
After a few more words, Monk Gyatso and I parted ways, prompting me to head to my small room to rest for the remainder of the day since Appa and I had been doing nothing but traveling through the sky for the past several days.
"I'm also a little sleepy; that meeting was rather boring." Said Aang softly as he entered his room and closed the door behind him before lying down on his bed.
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Standing along with the Elders and master air-benders, we all watched as Monk Hitsugaya, Iio, and the two other Elders I don't know the name of prepared to take to the skies while leading the many young and inexperienced Air-Nomads.
There was currently a thunderstorm ongoing, which made it slightly dangerous, but the excess of wind would also allow the Sky Bisons to soar through the sky far faster than normal.
'Hmm, I wonder, could I perhaps harness the strength of a storm?' Mused Aang with a curious expression as he gazed at the dark clouds up above while his face was constantly hit with raindrops before shaking his head.
Deciding to think about that later, I shifted my focus back to the group in the distance; we had already said our farewells since this could very well be our last time ever interacting with each other. Now, we're simply seeing them off in hopes that if the worse would come to pass, we could at least die knowing we would still live on.
"Come! Let us go!" Yelled Hitsugaya loudly as he gazed at the many children before snapping his reins, causing his sky bison to flap his tail before taking to the sky.
Following his words, the many children and three other elders did the same as their sky bison took to the skies; watching their figures vanish amidst the heavy downpour, we stayed standing for a few minutes before finally leaving, our focus now shifting to the protection of the Air Temple.