The bright full moon over a mountain range. Aang and Appa are in the square of a village. Aang is frustratedly pulling on Appa's reins.
With as much calm as Aang can muster, he calmly explains to Appa, "Look, I'm sorry, but Katara and Sokka aren't coming to the Fire Nation with us. If they got hurt, I'd never forgive myself." Angrily, he adds, "So get your big butt off the ground and let's go!" Aang continues to pull on Appa's reins. Appa continues to remain immovable. Aang pulls so hard on the reins that he falls to the ground. Suddenly, Aang hears Sokka's voice and turns around. Sokka, Katara and members of the village are standing behind Appa. Sokka laughs, and offers a hand to Aang to help him up, "I think his big butt is trying to tell you something." Katara comes up behind Sokka, talking over his shoulder as he helps Aang up. "Please don't go, Aang. The world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation. Neither can I." He gets up from the ground and walks towards Sokka and Katara. "But I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision means. I need to get to the Fire Temple before the sun sets on the Solstice. That's today." Aang jumps up onto Appa's back and looks back hesitatingly at Sokka and Katara. Sokka and Katara jump in front of Appa. "We're not letting you go to the Fire Nation alone. We've got your back." Momo jumped up onto Aang's arm, chittering happily. Appa sees his little buddy so happy, and licks Sokka from toe to head. "EWWWWWWWW!" Sokka screams as he tries to shake the excess moisture off of him.
The chief approaches the group. "It's a long journey to the Crescent Island." He hands Aang a parcel. "You'll have to fly fast to have any chance of making it befor/ie sundown. Good luck." Aang starts to thank the chief and is cut off by him urgently pointing to the sky and yelling GO! He does.
The Chief is coming out of a door, sighing and rubbing his forehead. He walks directly into Prince Zuko. Zuko is accompanied by General Iroh on the back of a war rhinoceros. "Having trouble sleeping?" He asks as he pushes the chief back in the doorway. "Seen the Avatar lately?"
The sun is high in the sky. Appa flys through the clouds, with Katara, Sokka and Aang on his back. Aang looks over his shoulder at the rising sun, then turns forward with a determined look. "Come on, boy! We've a long way to go. Faster!" He pumps his large tail and growls in assent. Aang pats the top of his head as he sits and controls the reins. "I know, Buddy. We should've left last night. We'd be halfway there by now… And alone." He whispers the end more to himself than to Appa, and looks back at Katara and Sokka. Sokka is sharpening his boomerangs and Katara is sitting and twirling an apple in her hands, not eating it, and looking slightly nervous.
Zuko's ship is racing through the ocean, cutting the waters like a knife, and leaving a small trail of dead jellynomone that travelled too close to the engines and propellers in their wake. Iroh lookS concerned and frustrated. "Sailing into Fire Nation waters... of all the foolish things you have done in your 16 years, Prince Zuko, and you've done some pReTtY foolish things in that time, THIS has got to be the MOST foolish." Zuko is in the forefront looking through a high powered spy glass. A guard is behind Zuko to the left. Iroh is behind Zuko to the right. Iroh continues, "Failure is only the opportunity to begin again. Only this time, more wisely… Be wise, Zuko!" "I have no choice, Uncle!" Zuko spat out, almost disgusted at his uncle's words. Iroh was angered deeply by this, but not for reasons one would think. "Have you completely forgotten that the Fire Lord banished you?!" And with a look of anguish and worry, he added in a lower voice, "What if you're caught?" At this, Zuko turned away from his spyglass, furrowing his brows. "I'm chasing the Avatar, a direct order from my father. He'll understand why I'm returning home." Iroh simply rolled his eyes and sighed. "You give him too much credit. My brother is not the understanding type… Nor the sharing type… Or the-" Zuko turned back to his spyglass and drowned out his Uncle's ramblings. He searches the skies for a few seconds and identifies Appa's flying form in the distance. "There they are! Helmsman, full steam ahead!"
Appa is flying in a beautifully lit morning sky with Zuko's ship gaining on them. Katara is the first to notice. "Aang, we got trouble." At the sound of trouble, Sokka looked up from his boomerangs, "Yeah. And it's gaining fast!"
Upon Zuko's ship, a catapult is raised from below deck, loaded with a steaming, unhealthy serving of leftover skunk fish from this morning's breakfast. Zuko and Iroh standing behind the catapult. Iroh, fanning himself, wrinkles his nose in disgust, and groans out, "Really, Prince Zuko, couldn't you shoot them down with something more fragrant?" Zuko shoots daggers from his eyes with his piercing, angry gaze. "Well. If SOMEONE would have been on the ship on time, we wouldn't have had to put up with the slop the old warden made." Zuko shoots a fireball at the projectile and it ignites. He raises his arm in the air. "On my mark… FIRE!" A Fire Nation soldier cuts the catapult's rope and the fiery projectile is hurtled into the air.
Katara, on the back of Appa, witnesses this and shouts to Aang, "FIREBALL!" To which he replies by pulling hard on Appa's reins and making him swerve just in time. The fireball sails over Aang's head.
Katara covers her nose with her hands, and still the stench is enough to bring a tear to her eye. "We have to get out of Zuko's range before he shoots another hot stinker at us!" Sokka isn't holding his nose, but his eyes are watering so badly, you'd think he just cried a healthy, hefty cry. "Can't you make Appa go any faster?" Aang was holding his nose, pinching so hard that he could leave a bruise. "Yeah. But there's just one little problem."
Zuko's eyes widened. "A blockade!"
The ocean is filled with a double line of Fire Nation war ships stretching to the horizon. Most are lined with trebuchets.
Zuko stands at the helm, a Fire Nation soldier and General Iroh standing behind him. Iroh strokes his beard, as if in deep, concentrated thought. "Technically you are still in Earth Kingdom waters. Turn back now and they cannot arrest you." At this, Zuko turns to glare at his uncle, and then turns back to glare at the Avatar in his spyglass.
Aang is looking at the line of warships, "If we fly north we can go around the Fire Nation ships and avoid the blockade. It's the only way." Katara looks at the ships and shouts out to Aang, "There's no time!" To which Aang shook his head and said, "This is exactly why I didn't want you to come. It's too dangerous." Katara put her hand on her hips, even though Aang couldn't see from his position of steering, and said, "THAT'S why we're here!" And seeing his sister look so defiant, Sokka knew, "Let's run this blockade" He said with a grin, holding both of his newly sharpened boomerangs. Aang hears his friend's confidence and tells Appa, "Yip yip!" Appa growls affirmatively.
Zuko is peeking through his spyglass. "He's not turning around." Iroh looks worried and starts to walk towards Zuko. "Please Prince Zuko, if the Fire Nation captures you, there is nothing I can do. Do not follow the Avatar." He says, and gently places a hand on Zuko's shoulder. Zuko bowed his head, took his uncle's hand and squeezed it gently, and said, "I'm sorry, Uncle." Turning to his helmsman, he points forward and yells out, "Run the blockade!"
In the distance, a man from one of the ships of the blockade was also looking through his spyglass. He focuses first on Appa and then on Zuko's ship. "The Avatar...and the banished Prince. This must be my lucky day."
A soldier approaches the man behind the spyglass. "Commander Zhao, what are your orders?" "Shoot the Bison down." the soldier squinted out into the distance to make sure he was right in what he saw in the rooster moments before, "But there's a Fire Navy ship out there, Sir. one of our own. What if it's hit?" Zhao lowers his spyglass and simply states, "So be it." Which startles the soldier. "It belongs to a traitor." Zhao turns toward a soldier standing ready at the trebuchet. "Ignite!" And down the length of the ship, each soldier ignites his assigned trebuchet. "Launch!" Fire balls fly into the air on either side of Zhao. all the war ships in the blockade follow suit and start launching fire balls at the same time.
Appa, Aang, Sokka and Katara all scream as the fireballs come racing towards them. Appa swerves and dips and dives to avoid the fire balls. Aang's teeth are clenched and his hands are tight around the reins as he tries to help the bison avoid the fireballs. One grazes Appa's back and Katara, Sokka, and Momo beat out the fire that started. Appa growls in anger and pain.
The same fireballs that the Avatar and his bison avoided are now sailing towards Zuko's ship. A soldier is trying to keep his balance as the ship is rocked by waves created by the fireballs hitting the water close to the ship. One fireball lands extremely close to the ship and generates a wave that breaks across the deck. Another fireball hits the back part of the ship. Prince Zuko braces himself against the catapult. He turns towards the front of the ship. The engine master calls to him and Zuko turns to speak to him. The engine master points to the billowing fire and smoke behind him. "Prince Zuko, the engines are damaged! We need to stop and make repairs!" Zuko turns back to the front of the ship, stamping his foot a little harder than necessary. "DO NOT stop this ship!" Iroh stood behind his nephew, trying to talk some sense into him, "Just turn around. It's not too late. There is no defeat in living to fight another day. There is n-" Zuko cut off Iroh anger broiling over in him so harshly that he couldn't control, nor did he notice, the small sparks emitting from his fingertips. "I said what I said! Now follow!"
Trebuchets stand ready behind Commander Zhao. "LAUNCH!" Each ship launches multiple fireballs into the air.
Appa is bursting through the clouds, a cumulus trail in his wake. Aang is trying to help Appa avoid the fireball bombardment. In front of them, 12 fireballs shoot through the clouds, smoke trailing behind them. Appa swerves to miss one on his left. A fireball bursts in front of them and Aang, Katara and Sokka all scream as Appa swerves. Appa dives to avoid the fireballs. The smoke trails from multiple fireballs surround Appa. Fireballs continue to shoot through the sky. Two fireballs collide and explode directly in front of Appa. Appa growls and rears up to avoid the combustion. He bucks and Sokka is thrown from his back. Katara screams and reaches out for Sokka. Sokka begins to fall and disappears into the clouds below. Aang screams Sokka's name and pulls hard on Appa's reins. Appa dives to catch Sokka before he hits the ocean. Appa gets beneath Sokka. As Sokka continues to fall, Katara reaches out her hand to catch him. As their hands clasp, Appa hits the water, each of his six legs using the ocean's surface like a trampoline. He begins his ascent. A large pink fish is thrown up from the ocean and hits Sokka directly in the face. Sokka gasps and falls backward. The fish bounces off his face to be caught by a chittering Momo. "Oh great! Momo caught us dinner for later." Sokka said in an attempt to make a joke from the situation but it was met only with the sound of crickets, blank stares and an acorn being thrown at Sokka's forehead.
Fire Navy ships let loose another barrage of fiery missiles. Appa, still close to the surface of the water, swerves back and forth as fireballs land in the ocean.
Zhao stands on the helm of his ship and orders his men to be, "READY!" As he sees the Avatar and his bison swerving around the fireballs.
Being this close to the water gave Aang an idea. He called to Katara, "I'm going to need help." She nodded and understood what was needed of her, she started to waterbend a small bubble around them as Aang created an air shell, much like the one that he was trapped in when Katara and Sokka found him. Together, they made a perfectly rounded air bubble that stayed perfect upon their descent into the water, and once under, Zhao could see nothing, not even a shadow in the water. Appa is merely a tiny, bison-shaped speck as he passes the blockade line.
Aang is euphoric and raises his left arm in a celebratory fashion, almost breaking his bending stance. Sokka and Katara both have looks of shock and amazement on their faces. Sokka is the first to speak, and in pure disbelief he says, "We got into the Fire Nation…" He let his shoulders slump. "Great!" "Wow. You aren't even going to make a joke about all the fish you could have just caught?" Katara said as she watched Sokka deflate, and they come up from the sea. This seemed to perk him up, because his immediate response was, "I would say there's plenty of fish in the sea, but it seems that they all want your fin. Mwa mwa mwa." Sokka makes overly exaggerated kissing noises and waggles his brows in Katara's direction. Aang pipes in with, "Be careful what you wish for, Katara." "I noticed," Katara replied, then lobbed the eighth acorn in two days at Sokka's head. Appa and the gang continue on their way.
Commander Zhao is approached by one of his soldiers. "Where do you think the Avatar is headed, Sir?" Zhao answered, "I'm not sure." and looks over at Prince Zuko's approaching ship, "But I know a certain banished prince who would know."
Prince Zuko's ship approaches the Fire Navy's blockade. As Zuko's ship gets closer, the ships of the blockade move towards each other in order to bar his way.
On Zhao's ship, a large group of Fire Nation soldiers stands at parade rest behind him. Their leader snaps to attention and speaks. "The boarding party is ready to apprehend Prince Zuko, Sir." to which Zhao replies, "Wait. Cut the engines. Let them pass." This confused the soldier, whose only response was, "Sir?" Zhao does not respond. Zuko's ship slides easily through the blockade. While passing, Zhao and Zuko all but have a staring contest, the air so thick around them you could cut it with a knife.
Iroh looks at the blockade fading into the distance. He looks pensive and strokes his beard, not sure what to make of Zhao's move.
Appa flies through Fire Nation air space. Appa grunts and continues to fly. His tail begins to droop and his legs slacken as he gets more and more tired. Katara, Sokka and Momo relax on his back. Aang is falling asleep on Appa's head, reins in hand.
Suddenly, Aang wakes up and his face lights up in recognition. "There it is! The island Roku's dragon took me to!" A crescent shaped island appears through the clouds. In the center of the crescent is a large, active volcano. Fire and steam belch forth from it's cone. Appa flies towards the island. The temple sits on a promontory directly below the volcano. Appa lands near the temple. Aang pats Appa's face lovingly. "You did it buddy. Nice flying."
Appa groans and rolls onto his side in pure exhaustion. Katara walks towards Appa and begins to rub his tummy. Sokka is stretching behind her. Katara talks to Appa as she rubs his belly. "Oh! You must be tired!" Sokka thinks that Katara is talking to him and answers. "No, actually. I'm good. Refreshed and ready to kick some Fire Nation Butt." Katara rolled her eyes and threw an acorn at Sokka, "I was talking to Appa idiot." Sokka picked up the acorn and threw it back at Katara, missing, and said flustered, "Oh yeah? Well, I was talking to Momo!" Momo picks up the acorn and goes to eat it, chattering happily and giving Sokka a quizzical look.
On the steep path leading to the Fire Temple, Aang, Katara and Sokka walk hesitantly. They continually look to their left and right in anticipation of an attack. When they make it to the doors, Sokka, Aang, Katara and Momo are crouched behind a low wall in front of the temple. Sokka looks around in one final grand sweep. "I don't see any guards." Katara, not moving from her crouching position behind the wall simply said, matter-of-factly, "The Fire Nation must have abandoned the temple when Avatar Roku died." Aang in a frenzy said, "It's almost sundown, I don't have time for 'what if's' and 'maybe's.' We need to get a move on." Aang leaps over the low wall. Sokka, Katara and Momo follow him. Aang, Katara and Sokka are tip-toeing through the center of the temple. Sokka stops in mid tip-toe. "Wait… I think I heard something." Sokka, Aang and Katara turn around. Behind them are 5 elderly men in red robes. One of the elderly men speaks and identifies the group as Fire Sages. Aang, Sokka and Katara all have puzzled and startled looks on their faces. Aang steps forward. "Great! I'm the Avatar!" The fire sage standing dead center said, "We know." and lobbed a fireball at Aang.
Three fireballs are swiftly approaching Aang. Aang assumes the airbending pose and deflects the fireballs. He turns towards Sokka and Katara. "I'll hold them off. Run!" Aang turns back to face the Fire Sages as Sokka and Katara run down the corridor. His face is determined. He bends low and swipes his leg in an arc sending a burst of air directly at the feet of the Fire Sages. All five of the Fire Sages are knocked to the floor, face first. They grunt as they fall. Aang runs after Sokka and Katara. The Fire Sages slowly pick themselves up off the floor. "If the Avatar contacts Roku, there's no telling how powerful the boy will become. Split up and find him!"
Katara, Sokka and Momo run through the temple. As they approach a corner, Aang comes running towards them. They stop abruptly to avoid running head first into Aang. Aang ran into them and knocked them down like bowling pins. "Sorry guys." He said as he helped them up. "Follow me!" He said, starting to make his way around another corner. Sokka picks Momo up and places him on his shoulder, "Do you know where you're going?" "NOPE!" Comes Aang's reply as he disappears around the corner. Sokka, Katara and Momo begin to follow him. Suddenly, Aang comes running back around the corner. A Fire Sage is hard on his heels. "Wrong way!" Aang, Sokka, Katara and Momo continue to race around corner after corner trying to lose the pursuing Fire Sage. Finally, they run into a corridor that turns out to be a dead end. With no escape, they face the Fire Sage.
The Fire Sage stops in his pursuit, now that the kids have stopped. "I don't want to fight you. I'm a friend." He huffed, trying to catch his breath in between every other word. "My name is Shyu." Sokka, Aang and Katara stay in battle positions. Sokka simply states, "Firebenders aren't our friends." Shyu moves carefully towards them. As he approaches Aang, he drops to his knees and bows. "I know why you're here, Avatar. You wish to speak to Avatar Roku. I can take you to him." The last part he offered as he started to stand. Sokka, Aang and Katara's faces are quizzical and wary. Aang squints his eyes, and asks, "How?"
The Shyu reaches towards the wall and turns the light fixture. The fixture is a lever. Behind the fixture is a small hole in the wall. Shyu takes a deep breath and shoots fire through the hole. Fire frames one of the panels in the wall. The panel slides back and to the right. The secret passage is revealed. A long staircase carved into the rock of the mountain disappears into the dark below. "This way." Shyu says. "Time is running out. Quickly!" Aang and Katara look at each other and nod in agreement. All three, plus Momo, start towards the opening to the secret passage. Shyu follows them into the passage. He touches a lever and closes the door behind them.
Prince Zuko's damaged ship sails through the water. Dark black smoke billows from the back of the ship. Zuko and Iroh are on the deck of the ship. "I don't get it, uncle. Why didn't Commander Zhao arrest me?" Iroh shifted where he stood, obviously not wanting to say, "Because he wants to follow you. He knows you'll lead him to the prize you're both after...the Avatar." Zuko shifts back and forth angrily. "Fine! If Zhao wants to follow our trail of smoke, then that's exactly what I'll let him do."
Back at the Fire Temple, the sun is setting to the left. The temple is silhouetted in shadow on the right. Aang, Katara, Sokka, Momo and Shyu walk down the stairs and into a vast and cavernous system of tunnels. They continue to walk through the tunnels, with live magma from the volcano to their right. Shyu started to tell the kids some of the history of the temple. "Avatar Roku once called this temple his home. He formed these secret passages out of the magma." Hearing this Aang got so excited he could have airbended out of his boots. "Did you know Avatar Roku?" Shyu sighed, somewhere in between fondly and sadly. "No. But my grandfather knew him. Many generations of Fire Sages guarded this temple long before me. We all have a strong spiritual connection to this place." Aang felt torn by his admittance. It would have been nice to meet someone who knew Roku. He thought for a second. "Is that how you knew I was coming?" Shyu didn't notice Aang's shifts in facial expressions or thought, and kept talking. "A few weeks ago, an amazing thing occurred. The statue of Avatar Roku, its eyes...began to glow!" Katara took no time to piece the clues together. "That's when we were at the Air Temple. Avatar Roku's eyes were glowing there too!" Shyu was more than eager to give information to the three children. "At that moment, we knew you had returned to the world."
As Zuko was getting on his other boat, a small 3-5 person boat, to take him to the island where the Avatar went, Iroh came up to him. "Before you go, what is it that you want for dinner?" Iroh asked as an offhand way of saying come back safe. "I don't know Uncle, maybe duck stew?" Zuko said thinking about the time his mother had made it when he needed some cheering up or to celebrate something. "Ah, sounds good I will have Yhu Wy help with the potatoes for the stew. I will get right on cooking." Iroh said as he watched Zuko set off. "Thank you Uncle." Zuko said with a halfhearted curl of his lips, not quite a smile, but the essence of one, as he headed for the Crescent Isle.
Shyu and the gang walked in silence for a few moments, until Aang spoke up because he couldn't understand something. "If this is the Avatar's temple, why did the Sages attack me?" Shyu almost stopped dead in his tracks and sighed heavily, looking somehow deflated, almost fragile as he spoke sadly, "Things have changed. In the past, the Sages were loyal only to the Avatar. When Roku died, the Sages eagerly awaited for the next Avatar to return. But he never came." Aang paused and leaned against the tunnel wall, shocked and scared. "They were waiting for me?" Sokka put his arm around Aang's shoulder and held him in a loving brotherly embrace. "Hey, don't feel bad. You're only a hundred years late." Aang glares at Sokka over his shoulder locked in the embrace. "That was supposed to be helpful?" Katara thinks for a second, snaps her fingers, and says something that Grangran said their mom used to tell them when they had difficult things to face. "You must never give into despair. Allow yourself to slip down that road and you surrender to your lowest instincts. Remember that without bad times, we wouldn't appreciate good times. Take it with a grain of salt, and use this to build a better you, a better world. Believe that you've got this, like we do." And she smiled sweetly. "You know I never understood what it meant to take with a grain of salt. Nobody ever tells me this when there's food around." Sokka said, seeming like he was making a joke, but was being dead serious. Shyu looks confused at the turn of the conversation, and the fact that everyone was stopping. "Umm… Well, they lost hope the Avatar would ever return. When Fire Lord Sozin began the war, my grandfather and the other Sages were forced to follow him. I never wanted to serve the Fire Lord." He said with a violent shiver, "When I learned you were coming, I knew I would have to betray the other Sages." Aang bowed deeply to the old man, "And I thank you, humbly, for that." Shyu just smiles warmly at the young Avatar.
As they continue up the steps of the tunnel, Shyu changes from tour guide to temple expert, and instead of giving the kids a history lesson, now starts telling them 'How To Temple.' "We'll follow these stairs to the sanctuary. Once you're inside, wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak with him."
Light from a single window shines into an otherwise dark room. Suddenly, the floor lifts up and Shyu's head appears. He walks up the final steps into the temple, followed by Aang, Katara, Sokka and Momo. They proceed towards the doors to the sanctuary and Shyu gasps suddenly. "NO! The sanctuary doors… They're closed!" Katara looked confused for a second. "Can't you just open them with firebending? Like you opened that other door?" Shyu looked down, almost completely defeated. "No. Only a fully realized Avatar is powerful enough to open this door alone. Otherwise the Sages must open the doors together with five simultaneous fire blasts. And I KNOW we aren't gonna get the other Sage's help." Sokka scratches his chin thoughtfully for a minute. "Five fire blasts. Huh? I think I can help you out."
Back at Prince Zuko's ship, smoke is still pouring out of the damaged rear engine. Zuko has instructed the men to open the back hatch of the ship. A smaller vessel is being lowered into the ocean. Only Zuko is on it. He told the temporary captain, Zhang, "Keep heading north. Zhao will follow the smoke trail while I use it as a cover." The smaller ship is then deployed. It lands safely in the water and disappears into the smoke.
In Commander Zhao's spyglass, just as Zuko predicted, all he can see is the black smoke from the damaged ship. Zhao lowers his spyglass.
Shyu, Aang and Katara are standing in front of the doors to the Fire Temple Sanctuary. Sokka is sitting on the floor, Momo on his knee, filling small sacks. "This is a little trick I picked up from my father. I seal the lamp oil inside an animal skin casing, Shyu lights the oil soaked twine and tada! Fake firebending!" Katara looked at what Sokka was doing and was surprised to notice that this was her first time seeing Sokka do this trick, as well as everyone else's. "You've really outdone yourself this time, Sokka." Shyu looked like if he was a younger man he would sprint around the whole room jumping for joy, but stood still and happily said, "This might ACTUALLY work!" Sokka stuffs the animal skin sacks into the mouths of the five lion heads guarding the door to the sanctuary. Sokka runs away from the doors. He joins Katara, Aang and Momo behind the nearest columns for protection from the blasts. Shyu stood dead center in front of the doors, turned to the Avatar and his friends, and said, "The Sages will hear the explosions, so as soon as they go off, you rush in. Plus, it's almost sunset. So you'd better be ready." Aang just nodded, a small nod, but also full of determination. Shyu sends a small stream of fire past the five lion heads. The twine ignites. Shyu joins Aang behind the column. Sokka crouches and holds tightly onto Katara's skirts. The small bombs go off and smoke fills the chamber. Aang runs towards the doors and pulls on the handles. The doors will not budge. "They're still locked." Aang shouts over his shoulder as he's still pulling on the handles. "It didn't work." He said sadly as he sank to the floor. The sun is setting and despite any inspirational speeches, Aang is slowly losing hope, and possibly his mind.
Katara, Sokka, Shyu and Momo stand in front of the doors to the sanctuary while Aang is angrily hurling air blasts at the locked doors. "WHY… WON'T… IT.. OPEN…?!" He huffs out in between air blasts. Katara walks over and gently grabs Aang's arm. "Aang, stop! There's nothing else we can do." Aang hangs his head low, wanting to sink to the floor again, but he holds himself fast, and apologizes. "I'm sorry I put you through all this for nothing."
Sokka approaches the doors. He runs his finger through the soot produced by the blasts. Momo chitters and crawls over the lion's face. "I don't get it. That blast looked as strong as any firebending I've seen." Katara drops her hand from Aang's arm and facepalms herself. "Sokka! You're a genius!" Aang has to take a double take at Katara's words. "Wait, how is Sokka genius? His plan didn't even work." Sokka looked a little scornful at this. "Come on, Aang. Let her dream." Katara gave them both a sly smile. "You're right. Sokka's plan didn't work… But it LOOKS like it did." Aang and Sokka both shared a general look of confusion and approval. Aang asked Sokka, "Did the definition of 'genius' change in the last hundred years?" "I don't know. What was the definition back then?" Sokka asked rhetorically. At this, Katara shot him a dirty look, and another acorn to the forehead. "Just take the compliment! I don't give you many." Sokka rubbed his temple. "Well, ya sure as shit give me acorns to the face. Stop that. I'd prefer the compliments again." He all but sings, "Come on, Sokka's a genius." happily. Katara giggles. "Nope. You're a hundred years too late." At this, Aang even cracked a smile and let out a small giggle and Momo chittered happily, unaware of the reason everyone was so giggly but glad to join in the euphoria of everyone's happiness.
Shyu leads the four other Fire Sages to the sanctuary's doors. "Hurry! The Avatar has entered the sanctuary. I don't know how he did it. But look at the scorch marks and down there!" Shyu points to the space between the doors and the floor. A shadow, as if of two feet, moves back and forth. The largest of the Fire Sages shouts out to the rest. "He's inside! Open the doors IMMEDIATELY before he contacts Avatar Roku!"
Aang is perched on the dragon's tail wrapped around the columns. He slowly inched his way to the floor, ready to run the minute the Fire Sages open the doors. They shoot five fire blasts into the lion's heads on the face of the door. Smoke appears around the door jambs. As the fire blasts worked their way through the lock, the doors began to creak and open slowly. The light from the interior of the sanctuary is initially blinding. As it begins to dissipate, the Fire Sages see a lone Momo inside the sanctuary. Momo sneezes and looks quizzically at the Fire Sages. The largest of the Fire Sages, and the man standing dead center, shouts out, "It's the Avatar's lemur! He must have crawled through the pipes! We've been tricked!" Momo suddenly leaps at the Fire Sage's face, knocking him down. Katara and Sokka jump from behind two columns and grab the two nearest Fire Sages. They pull the Fire Sages' clothes over their heads. Shyu grabs the last Fire Sage. All four Fire Sages are subdued. "Go Now Aang!" Sokka called as Aang was supposed to run through the doors not waiting for Sokka to finish speaking.
Prince Zuko and Aang appear from behind a column. Zuko has taken Aang prisoner. He is holding Aang's arms tightly behind his back. "The Avatar is coming with me!" The tables turn for Katara, Sokka, Shyu and Momo. Momo flies towards the ceiling. Katara, Sokka and Shyu are tied with chains to the nearest column. Zuko pushes the struggling Aang towards the opening in the floor that leads to Avatar Roku's secret tunnels. "Close the doors! Quickly!" Zuko shouts over his shoulder at no one in particular because he's used to his orders being followed. Aang looks over his shoulder at Sokka and Katara. As he and Zuko reach the opening, he makes several swift moves and knocks Prince Zuko off balance. Aang kicks Zuko down the stairs and turns around quickly. As Zuko tumbles down the stairs with a grunt, Aang runs towards the doors of the sanctuary which are beginning to close. Aang banks left and jumps into the air to avoid a fire blast. He does several turns in mid-air. Aang uses the heads of two of the Fire Sages as stepping stones on his way to the doors. He sails through the doors just as they are closing. The doors shut and the locks grind. Katara shouts out happily, "He made it!" A blast of bright white light comes from behind the sanctuary doors.
Aang inside the sanctuary. He crouches on the floor in front of Avatar Roku's statue. The setting sunlight comes through an octagonal window at the top of the sanctuary. The light is reddish and moves slowly up the great statue. Aang stands up, staring at Roku's eyes the whole time. "The light hits the statue and I talk to Roku. So why isn't anything happening?"
Four of the Fire Sages and Prince Zuko assume firebending poses. They shoot five simultaneous fire blasts at the doors. This time, however, the lock mechanism does not respond. Zuko is extremely aggravated. "Why isn't it working?" "It's sealed shut!" Shyu answers coyly, "It must have been the light. Avatar Roku doesn't want us inside."
The sun is sinking slowly into the sea. Aang stands in the center of the sanctuary facing Roku's statue. The light from the window is now on Roku's chest. Aang holds the sides of his head, on the verge of tears. "Why isn't anything happening? I don't know what I'm doing! All I know is airbending! Please, Avatar Roku, talk to me!" The sunlight moves up Roku's face. When the light hits the statue's eyes, they begin to glow. The sanctuary is filled with white smoke.
When the smoke clears, Aang is standing face to face with Avatar Roku. They are on the top of a mountain range.
Roku smiled grandly at Aang, his tears already dissipating. "It's good to see you, Aang. What took you so long?" Aang is now shocked and amazed. He bows deeply to Avatar Roku.
Back at the entryway to the sanctuary, Shyu is kneeling on the floor in front of Prince Zuko, hands tied behind his back. The four Fire Sages stand behind him. Zuko gets so close to Shyu's face that he could tell he had a banana with breakfast, and asks him, "Why did you help the Avatar?" Shyu simply sat in defiance and confidence and answered, "Because it was once the Sages' duty. It is still our duty." Sokka started snickering when Shyu said duty. Katara just glared at him since at this time they were both tied up and she can't throw another acorn at him.
Suddenly, from behind Prince Zuko, comes the sound of one pair of hands clapping. Commander Zhao is approaching with Fire Nation troops. "What a moving and heartfelt performance. I'm certain the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him." The largest of the Fire Sages bowed, "Commander Zhao…" And in turn, Zhao ignored him, continuing on with his ramblings. "And Prince Zuko, it was a noble effort. But your little smoke screen didn't work. Two traitors, in one day, the Fire Lord will be pleased." A Fire Nation soldier moves towards Zuko and grabs him. Zuko struggles. "You're too late, Zhao. The Avatar's inside and the doors are sealed. There's no getting inside now." "That's fine." retorts Captain Zhao, almost mockingly. "I never said I was going IN. Sooner or later, he has to come out." He added with a malicious smile. Sokka and Katara exchange worried glances.
Iroh is plucking ducks, working on the stew. Yhu Wy is peeling his famous potatoes. Iroh would usually be humming while he cooked. But today he was too worried about his Nephew. Yhu Wy filled in the silence anyway, unaware of what was troubling the great General. Yhu Wy was whistling away as he peeled the potatoes. By the time he got to cutting the potatoes, he was tired of whistling, and tried to start conversing with Iroh. "Soo… Why exactly are we having duck stew tonight?" "It is what Prince Zuko wanted for dinner. Also it is not for the whole ship so those potatoes are enough. Everyone else is getting a dish I was going to fix a few nights ago, roasted eel rolls. I've been experimenting with a new sauce for it and everything." Iroh says as excitedly as a small child showing off his favorite toy as he holds up his jar of puuplish-black liquid. "Oh, can you make rice Yhu Wy?" Iroh asked, putting the jar on the counter. "Um… I can try?" Yhu Wy replied unsure of himself.
Roko and Aang stand in the clouds, atop a mountain, talking. Roku tells Aang, "I have something very important to tell you, Aang. That is why, when you were in the spirit world, I sent my dragon to find you." Aang asks if it's about his weird visions. Roku agreed. "But what does it mean?" Aang asked in an almost whiny voice.
The light of the mountain range fades into a starry night sky. The comet slowly crosses the sky from left to right as Avatar Roku speaks. "One hundred years ago, Fire Lord Sozin used that comet to begin the war. He and his firebending army harnessed its incredible power, making them stronger than you could ever imagine, and dealt a deadly first strike against the other nations." Aang interrupts his story momentarily and without a second thought. "But that happened a hundred years ago. What does the comet have to do with the war now?" "Listen carefully." Roku started, making sure to make direct eye contact with Aang. "Sozin's comet will return by the end of the summer. And Fire Lord Ozai will use its power to finish the war once and for all." The vision changes to Ozai taking a deep breath, raising his head, and screaming a burst of fire from his open mouth. "If he succeeds, even the Avatar won't be able to restore balance to the world. Aang, you must defeat the Fire Lord before the comet arrives." Aang starts to panic and looks like if he had hair, he'd be pulling it out. "But I haven't even started learning waterbending, not to mention earth and fire." He all but screeched in a panicked frenzy. Calmly, Roku explains, "Mastering the elements takes years of discipline and practice. But if the world is to survive, you MUST do it by summer's end." Fear and worry wash across Aang's face. The room starts to glow a blinding white.
A little while later, there was a beautiful roaring fire under a pot of stew and several smaller, but still beautiful fires under pots of sticky rice. The whole place smelled beautifully, like the men were transported to the palace while a feast was being prepared, and not on the stinky ship crowded with stinky men. "Yhu Wy, keep an eye on that rice to make sure it doesn't burn. If it does, we can not use it and it will smell horrible!" Iroh said, noticing Yhu Wy trying to watch him. "Y…Yes Sir," Yhu Wy said, looking back to the pots of rice to make sure they don't burn. Iroh chuckles as he takes one of the pots of finished rice over to where he was working on the roasted eel rolls with some sea kelp. As his sauce heated up, first he placed the sea kelp down, then took a spoon of rice, smoothed it over the kelp then dipping the eel in the sauce, placed it on the rice then put some root vegetables on top. After that he started rolling it to make the rolls he was talking about. Then he cuts them up in smaller pieces that look to be more bite size. He was putting the plates together after cutting them for each of the soldiers and all of the crew members. Iroh checked on the stew and gave it a quick stir as he went back to making more rolls. Soon the only thing still cooking was the stew, but now on a low heat, as Iroh shows Yhu Wy how to do some of the rolls and how to cut them properly. "This is a lot harder than it looked." Yhu Wy said. "That is why it is called learning, it gets easier the more you practice." Iroh said laughing. Kel then comes in and sighs at the mess he was going to be cleaning as he sees all the pots and pans that were used. Yhu Wy notices Kel and nods a quick greeting as he gets back to learning how to make the rolls. "Ah Kel, would you mind starting to take the crew their dinner on the carts that are ready?" Iroh asked while cutting another roll and plating it. "I am a warden. I should not have to deal with this kind of thing." Kel mutters under his breath as he starts grabbing some plates. "Correction, you were a Warden now you are a servant on this ship." Iroh said as he heard what Kel muttered. "And I am a General. If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." "I can not change this situation that I am in! So that means nothing!" Kel started to yell. "Then you should look at it that you are alive and not still floating out at sea." Yhu Wy said, as he got what the respectable General Iroh meant. "Exactly." Iroh nodded in approval at Yhu Wy's explanation as they finished the last of the crew's dinner. "Now the crew will be very angry to have to wait any longer to get their dinner so it is time to get this delivered." Iroh said as he took one of the three carts. Yhu Wy takes another one and both head to two different areas that are labeled on the carts to hand out food. Kel grumbles and takes the last cart and heads to the engine room.
When the light fades out, Commander Zhao and his troops stand in front of the sanctuary doors, waiting for Aang to emerge. The troops assume the firebending pose. Zhao tells his men, "When those doors open, unleash all your firebending power. Sokka, Katara and Shyu are chained to a column, only able to watch. Katara whispers to Sokka, "How's Aang going to make it out of this?" to which Sokka incedulously asked, "How are WE going to make it out of this?"
The Fire Nation troops stand ready to attack. A bright white light visible from behind the door. Also behind the door are Avatar Roku and Aang. Aang starts getting visibly more and more worried, "What if I can't master all the elements in time? What if I fail?" "I know you can do it Aang, for you have done it before. The solstice is ending. We must go our separate ways...for now." At the thought of parting, Aang starting lobbing every question he could at Avatar Roku. "But I won't be able to come back to the temple. What if I have questions? How will I talk to you?" Roku looks so calm that in a way it calms Aang. He listens as Roku tells him, "I am a part of you. When you need to talk to me again, you will find a way." Roku closes his eyes and can see a new vision, one of Commander Zhao's ships waiting in the bay outside the Fire Temple. "A great danger awaits you at the temple. I can help you face the threat, but only if you're ready." Aang nods his head solemnly and the arrow on his head begins to glow.
Aang opens his eyes. They are glowing. He opens his mouth to speak, mouth glowing too. "I'm ready!"
Roku and Aang stand on the top of the mountain as smoke begins to swirl faster and faster around them. The scene dissolves to the door of the Fire Temple sanctuary. A blinding white light is coming from inside the sanctuary. Commander Zhao and his troops are silhouetted against the light. Smoke billows out into the entryway from the bottom of the door. following the smoke to where the Fire Sages are standing, they look at the floor in shock and fear. Sokka, Katara and Shyu are still tied to a column as the light from the sanctuary continues to grow. All three turn their heads away to shield their eyes. Zhao and his troops are in front of the door, standing in firebending poses, and not letting the light distract them. The door begins to open, slowly. Prince Zuko is tied to another column on the opposite side of the room as Katara, Sokka, and Shyu. He too turns his head away from the light. Zhao and two of his soldiers stand ready to attack.
As the doors begin to fully open, two large glowing eyes are visible in the dark of the sanctuary as the blinding light fades. Smoke continues to emanate from the sanctuary. Simultaneously, Katara yells out to Aang and Zhao yells, "FIRE!"
In total, nine soldiers, including Zhao, are concentrating all their firepower at the entrance to the sanctuary. The fire blasts are not entering the sanctuary. They are being held at the door and manipulated into a gigantic ball of swirling fire. It slowly begins to open. At the heart of the fire ball is Avatar Roku, his eyes glowing. He draws the fire ball back towards himself and shoots it out into the room. Zhao and his soldiers are knocked to the floor. The heat of the blast melts the chains holding Sokka, Katara, Shyu and Zuko. Zuko, now free, runs.
Outside the Fire Temple, Avatar Roku's blasts have breached the temple walls. His entire body is now glowing. He turns to look at the cowering Fire Sages. They take fright and run for their lives.
Zuko, after leaving the Isle, had to go and find his ship. What he didn't expect was a messenger hawk telling him to head back towards Earth Kingdom Waters. The message said, 'Nephew, after temporary Captain Zhang realized we were not being followed, he ordered the ship to head back out to Earth Kingdom Waters. We should be close to the Crescent Isles. We are waiting for your return to hightail it out of here. Also, your duck stew is on low heat waiting for your safe return. I am also waiting to eat upon your safe return. - Uncle Iroh' Zuko, even though he was previously mad about Zhao ruining his chance at capturing the Avatar, was able to find comfort in the fact that his uncle was going to wait for him to return to eat dinner with him. "I should find a way to repay Uncle for all of this." Zuko says to himself. Zuko had only just left from the Isle before he saw Zhao's ship sitting back away from Isle. As he sailed away he found his still smoking ship and sighed. "I really need to get the ship repaired now. Maybe I will take Uncle to the spa while we get the ship repaired." Zuko said to himself as he pulled alongside his ship and his boat got in its little dock in the back of the ship. Iroh was standing there waiting for him. "Nephew, welcome back! Your stew is ready and I will bring it up to your room." "Uncle, will you join me for dinner tonight?" Zuko asked. "Of course, enjoying a meal with company is a lot better than eating alone. Good times become good memories, and I hope to have many more good memories. But bad times become good lessons." Iroh responded happily as he went to get Zuko's and his dinner. Zuko sighed and slumped into a chair in the dining quarters, "I'm pretty sure I learned a couple lessons today, then." "Oh and what was that?" Iroh asked coming out with two bowls of stew as well as two plates of the roasted eel rolls. "Well, for one, I learned what THIS thing is," Zuko said, while playing with the eel rolls with his chopsticks, "And they're delicious. Secondly, I learned that 'traitors' have infiltrated the Fire Nation. And Zhao is the reason why Royals and Nobles shouldn't mix with commoners, and the reason people have middle fingers!" Iroh chuckled softly as he placed the plates down. After straightening up, he puts his hands on his hips and chuckles out, "Ooops. I thought I was talking to an adult." Zuko leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "You are uncle. I didn't say doodoohead, even though I thought it." At this, Iroh let out a big belly laugh. "I think we all do, nephew. Now let us eat before the food gets cold." Zuko smiles as they both start to eat. "Also Uncle, what is this roll?" Zuko asked as he took another bite. "Oh that is a roasted eel roll, a new recipe I was working on before those barbarians who call themselves soldiers captured me. It is a piece of sea kelp with rice on top of it with roasted eel in my new secret sauce as well as some root vegetables." Iroh said excitedly, happy that Zuko was enjoying it. "It is good, uncle. Maybe you should make it again some day or you will have to teach the new chef how to make it." Zuko said thoughtfully in between bites of food. "Well, nephew. There aren't many people I can't trust my secret recipe with just anyone. And we don't have a new chef yet, just this nice kid, Yhu Wy, who helps me." Iroh sits for a second, eating, then his face lights up like Christmas, "Would YOU like to learn my secret recipe?" Iroh asks Zuko as he pours extra sauce on his roll. Zuko looked shocked at the sudden outburst, almost dropping the jar of sweet goodness, but agreed nonetheless.
Shyu is the first to piece together what's going on. "Aang and Roku are one, and Roku plans to destroy the whole temple! We have to get out of here!" Katara looks at him as if he just slapped her in the face. "Not without Aang!" She spat out with a little more venom than she intended.
Avatar Roku stands in the doorway to the sanctuary. He raises his arm and brings it down on the floor of the temple. The force of his strike rend the floor. Molten lava rises to the surface. He lifts his hand, pulling the magma from deep within the volcano. A wall of magma shoots up through the entire temple structure. The lava explodes out of the very top of the temple. Zhao and his men are racing down the stairs. Back at the entryway to the sanctuary, Sokka and Katara are crouched behind a column for protection. Avatar Roku lowers his hands. He takes a deep breath and pushes his breath down.
The sunlight moves up the statue of Avatar Roku, moving up his face, and the eyes of the statue are no longer illuminated by the setting sun of the solstice. Live Roku is slowly being encased in a plume of smoke as the smoke created by Roku's pyrotechnics is sucked back towards him. He is completely shrouded in the smoke. As the smoke swirls and dissipates, Aang is standing in the entryway to the sanctuary. His eyes are glowing. He closes his eyes, groans and sinks to the floor. Katara and Sokka run to his side. Sokka puts a hand on Aang's shoulder. "We got your back." Aang looked up, and said weakly, "Thanks! Where's Shyu?" Katara took a step back and scanned the surrounding area, "I don't know."
Sokka, Katara and Aang approach the stairs that will lead them out of the temple. Lava has reached all but the top few steps. They realize that they are trapped. One of the columns crashes to the floor behind them. They gasp and run towards the hole in the temple wall created by Roku's blast. They see that the temple is being devoured by the volcano.
Momo and Appa are flying full speed towards the temple. Sokka, Aang and Katara slide down one of the peaks of the temple onto Appa's back. Appa zooms away just as the temple sinks further. Momo hops up onto Aang's lap, chittering. Momo has the hat of one of the Fire Sages on his head.
The temple explodes as Zhao is watching Appa fly off into the distance. "No Prince. No Avatar. Apparently the only thing I do have is five traitors." The largest of the Fire Sages, and most vocal of the bunch said, "But Commander, only Shyu helped the Avatar." Zhao kicked fire at the men, screaming angrily, "Save your stories for the Fire Lord. As far as I'm concerned, you're all guilty! Take them to the prison hold!" He finishes, waving his hand behind him, as he heads to his quarters.
Appa flying towards a bright full moon. The moon is large in the background. Aang, Katara Sokka and Momo are silhouetted against the light of the moon. Aang has drawn apart from his friends. His head hangs down with the weight of what he has learned. First Katara gets up and moves towards Aang. She sits next to him and puts her arm around his shoulders. Next Sokka, gets up and moves toward Aang. He sits next to Aang, his hand on Aang's arm. Finally, Momo flies towards Aang. He chitters and comes to rest directly in front of Aang. Appa growls lovingly, his tail rising and falling. The light from the moon grows brighter and brighter. In the moonlight, Aang explains to them everything that Roku told him in the spirit world. "I have to defeat the Fire Lord by summer's end before this comet arrives." As Aang finished his explanation, he could feel his friends shiver, but as he looked over, all he could see were looks of steely resolution.