An enormous airship emerged over the plain and began to descend slowly. The whistle of its mechanisms echoed through the air as the immense propellers at the stern kicked up a storm of dust and grass. Its metal hull, painted in crimson and black, gleamed under the midday sun, and the emblem of the triple flame engraved on the cabin made it clear that it belonged to the Fire Nation.
Taga stood frozen. His eyes swept over the metal behemoth in amazement.
Sokka walked past him, hands in his pockets and a mocking smile on his lips.
—Think of it as a big metal air bison —he said, patting him on the shoulder before climbing up the gangplank with carefree steps.
One by one, the team members went up. Aang was the last to climb, pausing for a moment at the top of the gangplank to look back.
—Are you coming?
Taga dispelled his doubts with a slight sigh and placed his hand on the railing. He climbed slowly, step by step, feeling the metal vibrate beneath his feet with the constant hum of the engine. When the hatch closed behind him, the airship released its moorings and began to rise toward the sky.
---
Night had fallen over the group. The airship sailed among the clouds, rocked by gentle air currents. On the upper deck, Aang and Taga lay on their backs, gazing at the starry sky.
It was a clear night. The Milky Way stretched above their heads, and the constellations shone with a clarity found only at those altitudes.
—I can't believe it —Aang said excitedly—. Airbenders will fill the sky again.
—We have received a great gift —Taga replied, his eyes fixed on the stars—. The opportunity to redeem ourselves.
—You were destined to find me on that mountain, Aang.
In a corner of the deck, just a few meters from where they lay, the air rippled slightly.
Noah observed the scene in an undetectable state, his body camouflaged under the combined effects of his invisibility and a presence-suppression talisman he had inscribed on his forearm.
Watching the two Airbenders before him, Noah shook his head inwardly.
As an outsider who had witnessed the entire interaction between the two individuals since Taga awakened, Noah could see things that neither Aang nor his friends could see. The excitement over the news that Sonum's staff could bring back airbending had completely blinded them to Taga's behavior. But Noah had observed everything with cold, analytical eyes.
Taga was cunningly using the staff's supposed ability to make Aang, with his deep sense of duty toward the Air Nomads, try to obtain the staff at all costs. He was painting a beautiful picture for Aang, who would dive headfirst into it without hesitation, selling him the dream of bringing airbending back to the world. A textbook manipulation strategy.
As for why he was doing it, Noah shrugged mentally. He didn't know if it was simply because Aang and his friends could be excellent helpers in the search for the staff, or if the Avatar was specifically needed to obtain it, or if Taga was just doing it on a whim. Like him.
—Let's see how far you go… —Noah murmured, a sly smile crossing his lips.
—By the way —Aang said, turning his head toward Taga—. How did you end up frozen on that mountain?
Taga's face darkened. His eyes drifted away from the stars, recalling the distant past.
—The earthbenders had attacked Jirana. Sonum and I fought fearlessly, side by side. We drove them back to Mount Baihu... And that's the last thing I remember.
—She must have saved your life back then —Aang said softly—. Only an Avatar could have placed you in that wall of ice.
Taga nodded slowly. Then he turned toward Aang.
—Aang, can I ask you something?
—Of course.
—If the Fire Nation destroyed the Air Nomads, how can you stand the Fire Lord's presence?
Aang frowned and slowly sat up, leaning on his elbows.
—Zuko is a friend and an ally —he replied firmly—. He turned against his own father to help me end the war.
—However, he now wears the crown himself —Taga insisted, his voice taking on a more serious tone—. Fire, by its nature, burns, Aang. Our kind has always suffered at the hands of the other elements.
From his invisible position, Noah clicked his tongue in silence.
—I get it now… His target is Aang. Without him, getting that staff must be much more complicated. First, he sparks his interest with the promise of the staff, and then he tries to isolate him from his friends while earning his trust through that bond between airbenders. Quite cunning.
But Aang was not bothered by Taga's words. He attributed them to the animosity generated by the conflict between airbenders and earthbenders in the era Taga had lived in—something he himself had experienced firsthand with the Fire Nation after awakening from his freezing and discovering what they had done to his tribe. It was a feeling he understood all too well. But it was also a feeling he had learned to overcome.
—That's why we built Republic City. To show the world that if we listen to each other, we can all live together in peace.
He stood up on the airship's metal surface. His eyes lit up with a soft glow, and the wind blowing at that altitude seemed to swirl around him, stirring the edges of his orange robes.
—When everyone stuck to their own, the whole world was nearly torn apart —he continued, walking slowly across the deck—. And besides, Katara, Sokka, Zuko, Toph... they are my family now. I want to live in a world where we can all be together. And once we bring the airbenders back, it will be complete.
He stopped and turned toward Taga. The moonlight illuminated his face, and in his eyes shone a determination that brooked no argument.
Taga watched him in silence, and a strange look crossed his eyes. His fingers drummed softly on the metal deck.
—You remind me a lot of Sonum.
Aang smiled broadly. Then he lay back down on the deck, his hands clasped behind his head.
Noah, still observing the two airbenders lying on the deck, suddenly turned his head. His gaze pierced through the sea of clouds surrounding the airship and settled on three giant silhouettes approaching rapidly.
—It's the Avatar —said a sharp-featured woman, holding a bronze telescope aimed directly at the Fire Nation airship—. And this time he has his friends with him.
—That's the Fire Lord's aircraft —replied a stocky man at her side, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists.
—How did they get ahead of us? —asked a third, his tone tinged with frustration—. They don't even have the map.
—We can't risk him reaching the staff first —A female archer slung her quiver over her shoulder with a sharp movement—. We must kill him.
—But... he spared our lives —murmured another woman beside her, her voice barely a whisper.
The archer turned. Her hand shot forward and grabbed the other woman by the shoulder, shoving her against one of the airship's metal columns with a dull thud.
—And how many countless died in the hundred years waiting for his return? —she hissed, her face inches from her companion's—. Where was he when your family was annihilated?
The younger woman lowered her head. Her lips trembled, but she found no answer.
—If we want things to change —the archer concluded, loosening her grip but not looking away—, we need what the benders have. Power.