A/N. Well, this chapter was longer then planned! It was important for the story, because I want to build on this idea, a lot!
I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender.
Closing his eyes, Aang felt his spirit being pulled away from his body.
Roku had contacted him last night that they were fleeing from the metal man, who had attacked them. That man had ruined his plans with Katara, but it was not the worst. What was the worse, was Sokka insisting that, when they landed on another small island, that they would all sleep close to each other, while one of them stayed awake and kept watch.
Aang had volunteered to be the first watch, because it was just… Not possible for him to go to sleep, thinking of what he could have been doing instead of watching in the darkness for any sign of a metal man. He could have been doing such nicer things! But no!
He must have fallen asleep at some point, because he remembered staring into the darkness next to Appa, and then suddenly, standing in front of Avatar Roku, who had been smiling at him.
"Aang, it's time you learned my history with Fire Lord Sozin. You need to know how the war started, if you want to know how to end it... Meet me on my home island, tomorrow…"
So, they had done just that. After some thinking, they had managed to discover which island on the map had been Roku's. Or rather, Aang had felt a weird sensation looking at one of the dots of the map, so they had chosen to go there.
When they had seen the island, the airbender couldn't help but feel… sad? He had the same feeling as when he had visited the air temples. A sense of loss, and sadness over the destruction of his homes. It seemed this island had been the victim of a volcanic eruption, because each square inch was covered in hardened magma. Toph had said to them that there were buildings under it, and when he had touched the ground, Aang had felt the same. Several dozen of houses, but he couldn't feel anything inside, except some burned furniture. No bones or something of the kind… All buried under the ash…
And now, Aang opened his eyes, to stand on a mountain top in the Spirit world. In front of him hovered an enormous ember eye.
"Hello Fang." The airbender smiled, extending his hand to the dragon's snout, and gently caressed it. The scales under his hand felt warm, and the dragon growled softly. The man sitting just behind the head of the dragon was Roku. The man looked the same as always, a long white beard, long greyish hair held up in a topknot fixed by a beautifully crafted hair piece. His long flowing robes were the colour of fire, changing from red to orange to yellow, with black symbols sewn into the fabric. The kind, dark eyes of the old man looked down on him.
"It is good to see you again Aang." Roku smiled, extending a hand towards him.
"You too Roku… it's been a while." The airbender grinned, grabbing the old man's hand. Seeing his arm bare, Aang was surprised to see that in the spirit world, he had left his Fire Nation disguise in favour of his Air Nomad tunic, leaving a part of his chest bare. Quickly running a hand over his head, he felt the smooth skin instead of the hair that had been growing ever longer. Spirits, that felt good…
"Indeed, it has been. I'm relieved to see you are alive. You'll have to thank Master Katara on my behalf please." Roku pulled him behind him on the dragon's saddle, and Aang put his arms around the avatar before him, because he knew that Fang liked to… Well, fly as fast as he could.
"I will! And Roku… Ehm… Where are we going?"
"To visit my past… Well, rather, our shared past. There are some things I want to show you." The older Avatar explained. A silence settled between them, as Aang tried to imagine what Roku wanted to show him… A powerful bending secret? Something hidden by the old man, that could help them?
They landed in some sort of courtyard, and Aang recognized it. It was a public park inside Caldera City like he had known it. Once, when visiting the Fire Nation with Gyatso, the monk had told him that in his youth, he had often come to this place, sharing a meal and laughing with old friends.
As Aang was looking to the flowers and the trees, he suddenly felt a soft hand on his shoulder, one that gently turned him towards two young men, who were training their firebending in a friendly match. It was clear that the two were friends. One, a rather short, bulky man, grinned and laughed each time the other made a mistake, permitting the man to best his friend. But it didn't sound unkind. Rather, in a teasing and friendly way, like Toph did when he trained earthbending with her.
"Looks like I win again Roku!" The shorter man extended his hand to the tall lanky teenager who had tripped on a tree root. Aang saw bulky man was wearing Roku's hair piece.
"Are you kidding? The tree root did all the work!" The gangly teenager, who Aang now recognized as the previous Avatar as a youngster, laughed while grabbing his friend's hand and stood up, "Nice one Sozin!"
So…zin? Fire Lord Sozin… What… What was he seeing?
"You were friends with him?" Aang felt his own mouth all wide open. He had always considered Roku a kind, wise man, who would have stopped the Fire Lord if he had been alive… But he had never suspected the man to be friends with… That kind of person.
"Back then, when he was just Prince Sozin… He was my best friend." The old man began to walk behind the two young people, sighing as if he was watching something sad. Aang followed, still not very sure what he was watching actually. What was this?
"Go on talk to her!" Sozin elbowed the young Roku in the ribs, nudging the teenager. Following the blushing Roku's gaze, the airbender saw that the longing gaze was being directed to a girl walking over one of the paths with a chaperone next to her. The girl in question was beautiful and seemed sweet.
"Love is hard when you are young…" the old Avatar smiled when seeing his younger self fall down, groaning as if in pain, while Sozin sat down next to him.
"Yeah…" Aang understood. He had not been much better with Katara in the beginning… Each time, trying to find a way to make his feelings clear, without being too forwards, so that he could always back out if it was clear that she didn't want to…
"I don't have to tell you, but you are lucky to be able to express it and have your companion returning those feelings with as much passion. Believe me Aang." Roku smiled down on him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
In a flash, the scene changed. Gone were the lush trees and flowers of the park, to be replaced by a rather ceremonial courtyard, decorated with golden dragons on red walls.
"The Festivity Square of the old Palace…Sozin and I shared many things… Our love for culture, bending and interest in the world outside the city… But also, a birthday. A sixteenth birthday here, to be exact."
Ah… Aang didn't need to ask to know what was going to happen… He himself had been subjected to this his last birthday… The official announcement of the Avatar… In the Air Temple, he had been called to the Elders around noon, to be told that a war loomed on the horizon, and that they needed him to become a fully fledged Avatar as soon as possible… Well, he was only a century too late!
His suspicions were confirmed when he saw a small group of Fire Sages walk through the crowds. Aang turned to the older version of Roku and smiled in sympathy. It was never good to hear such things on a day that was supposed to be a joyous occasion. And even though everyone seemed to think that being the Avatar was a good thing… Aang knew better. As did Roku, he suspected.
"Is it my father?" Sozin asked when the Fire Sages appeared in his eyesight. Of course… Those sages only left their temples to announce something important… The birth of a prince, the death of the sovereign… And the announcement of the Avatar. And the heartfelt concern in the prince's voice surprised Aang. He had not expected Sozin to be… Nice? Spirits…
"No, Fire Prince Sozin. We are here to announce the next Avatar." The first sage spoke, smiling widely, before turning towards Roku.
"It is our honour to serve you… Avatar Roku!" He knelt down and bowed low the teenager, followed by nearly everyone in the crowd. Even Sozin bowed down to his friend… And Aang saw the horrified expression on the young Roku's face…
Ah… Welcome to my world…
It was good to see that he had not been the only one horrified at the prospect of being the Avatar…
"Come on… we need to fetch Fang for the next stop." Spirit Roku gestured towards the outer courtyard, where the dragon was also watching the scene in front of him with a curious expression.
As Aang mounted the beast, he was surprised to feel one of the spikes graze his backside. Gritting his teeth, the airbender tried not to groan at the feeling. Spirits is that happened during a flight… Fang jumped into the sky as soon as Roku had settled on the saddle.
"I think you will like the next place we are going to visit…" Roku turned around, smiling kindly. Under them, the Fire Nation capital like Aang had known it disappeared, and they raced over seas and islands. The airbender was quite sure that even a dragon couldn't travel this fast… Maybe travelling in the Spirit World worked differently?
Suddenly, under them, passed an island that Aang recognized. It had been one of the places he would stop at when coming back from the Fire Nation… Travelling home. To his own home, a century ago…
"The Southern Air Temple…" He murmured, to which Roku chuckled.
"Indeed. Of all the temples, I loved that one the most, for a reason you'll quickly understand… I think we are reborn in places that we loved in our previous lives. Take Avatar Kyoshi. Her true love was a Fire Nation girl, sweet and fierce at the same time. So, where was the Avatar reborn? In the town where Rangi was from… And I had a great love for the Air Nomads of the Southern Air Temple… So where did my reincarnation grow up?"
And indeed, the great towers of the temple quickly loomed on the horizon. Aang felt a sort of… weird apprehension. Seeing his home in its glory days would be good… So good… But he would have to return to a world where it was a ruin, and were all his people were gone… A world where he was the only airbender.
"I know Aang… I'm sorry. If I could have prevented it… I would have." Roku sighed, as Fang began to descend towards the courtyard which had been the traditional take off place for the Sky Bisons.
As soon as they touched the ground, the airbender jumped down, feeling the soft winds hit his face. Spirits… This was so good… To see his home. And to see other people with the same tattoos… Looking around, Aang saw that not much had changed between his own time here and this moment. The flowers still grew on the walls, there were still cracks in the great mosaic, and there were still children running around, laughing and shouting. Home…
One thing wasn't right, however. In the sea of bald children stood one teenager, with long dark hair. And a solemn face, listening to one of the children, laughing at whatever he had been told.
"This was my first stop, to master airbending. I made friends here that would accompany me my whole life… And also, one of my greatest friends…. An old friend of yours actually." The older version of Roku came to stand next to him, gesturing to the child who was laughing with the younger firebender, blowing air into the teenager's hair.
"Gyatso?" Aang's heart nearly broke at the sight of his mentor as a child, happy and carefree… And seeing how the young Gyatso explained tot Roku how to use the glider was… Wonderful.
"Indeed…." Avatar Roku's spirit smiled at the scene in front of them, shaking his head as he watched his younger self wobble with the glider, trying to take off and put to the test whatever his young friend had explained.
"I can't believe you were friends with him… Just as I was." Aang spoke softly. Gyatso had been so much more than just a friend… Mentor, caretaker… Father. Yes, he had been with enough people to know what he felt towards the kind old monk. It was the emotion a child had towards his or her parents…
"Some friendships are so strong, they can even transcend lifetimes." Roku closed his eyes, smiling as the temple around them dissolved and changed into a quick succession of scenes.
"After my years of airbending training, I moved to the Northern Water Tribe to learn waterbending. It was difficult, and I took a long time learning it… But in time, I mastered it well, if I say so myself." Roku explained, as images flashed before Aang's eyes of a great frozen sea, with two men duelling with water. One of the men was clearly Roku, around twenty years old, struggling to bend the water around him until he mastered the moves at surpassed his teacher.
"I moved on to the Earth Kingdom." The older man continued, as the image changed again, from the frozen ice and sea, they were transported to a mountainous region that Aang recognized as the chain of mountains to the east of Ba Sing Se.
"My earthbending master, Sud, was uncompromising, stubborn and blunt… Much like your friend miss Bei Fong… And a lifelong friend." Roku gestured towards the two men, sitting on a boulder, laughing and drinking tea.
"It took twelve years to learn everything… From bending to the Avatar State. It was bitter work… But the results were worth it. I travelled back to the Fire Nation, where my childhood friend, Sozin, had succeeded his father."
The quick succession of images finished to settle on a rather large throne room, with golden columns and at one end, a great golden throne, with statues of dragons behind it. On the throne sat an older Sozin, around thirty, now wearing the clothes of a sovereign and looking… Rather serious.
The Fire Nation throne room…
"Sozin! My friend! Or should I say, Fire Lord Sozin!" A jovial voice called behind Aang, and as he turned around, he saw the younger Roku walk towards his old friend, arms extended and with a smile on his face, clearly happy to return to his home.
"Customarily, my subjects bow before greeting me." Sozin answered in a stern, disciplined voice. Standing up, he looked his old friend up and down, before a smile cracked through the strict façade.
"But you, my old friend, are the exception." The Fire Lord laughed, running down the steps of his throne, to close his arms around the Avatar, laughing all along the way.
Aang laughed too. Spirits… Sozin had… humour? Seriously?
"After all these years, he was still my best friend, and a few months later, he was also my best man." The spirit of the old Avatar told him, while the scene changed once again. Now, they stood back in the Festival Square, where a marriage was clearly taking place.
"Hey… That's the girl you liked!" Aang couldn't help but feel happy, even if this had taken place nearly one hundred and fifty years ago.
"Ta Min… She waited for me, as I had for her. She was the love of my life… When love is real, it finds a way. That happy occasion was tainted, however… By my friend. He explained that he wanted to show the world the power of the Fire Nation. But not by sharing and trading in a peaceful manner. No... He wanted an empire. I refused." Roku sighed, looking at his own wedding. Aang saw the bitter expression on the old man's face and knew… Roku regretted that he had not stopped his friend in a more decisive manner.
The festivities around them dissolved, and they stood in a sort of mist, without another memory forming.
"It was my first test as Avatar… Unfortunately, it was many years before I learned that Sozin had gone ahead with his plans… I flew off the western coast of the Earth Kingdom, to visit the king there… And saw it. Soldiers of my own nation, pillaging and occupying a small coastal town… Yu Dao. I immediately returned to Caldera."
Around them, the mist dissipated, and the throne room returned. Aang quickly looked to the throne, where a much older Sozin, at least forty or fifty, sat. The door of the great hall flew open with a burst of wind, and a very angry Roku entered. The Avatar had streaks of grey in his hair and beard, but Aang couldn't help but take a step backwards. The sheer… power… The man was pulsating was even palatable through a spirit memory… Spirits. Was this what it felt for others when he was angry?
"I have seen the colony Sozin! How dare you occupy Earth Kingdom territory?" The Avatar shouted.
"How dare you address your sovereign like that! Your loyalty is to our nation first!" Sozin answered, equally indignant.
Aang watched on as the two men began to exchange words, then blows. The airbender knew perfectly well that Sozin stood no change. He may have been a good firebender, but Roku was clearly in the right, and he knew it. The duel didn't last long, as Sozin was being thrown to one side of the room to the other, before being pulled up by a rocky outcrop. The flash of light, so familiar to Aang, was yet also a surprise. It was the first time he was seeing this from a spectator's point of view.
Spirits… Was that how he looked in the Avatar State? That was not a human… No, that was something else. A spirit, taking its revenge on the individual that had wronged him… At that moment, Aang wanted nothing more than flee and not look back at what was going to happen.
The explosion rocked the palace, and even in the memory, the airbender felt the ground shake and held his hand in front of him as the bricks and marble began to fly towards him. Nothing hit him, but still, he was afraid.
"I'm sparing you Sozin. I'm letting you go in the name of our past friendship. But I warn you. Even a single step out of line will result in your permanent end." Roku's voice, enhanced with the voices of the past avatars, sounded through the ruins, before the mist returned, and Aang turned to the spirit of the old Avatar.
"You let him… go?"
"Yes. Now, I see what irreparable damage that decision has caused… But at the time, I considered it a good choice. Sozin had no heir yet, and killing him would have resulted in a civil war between his cousins… So yes, I let him go. He and I didn't speak for twenty-five years. I kept an eye on him, but never directly. I wasn't invited to ceremonies, and he didn't attend the birth of my last child, as he had done with the others." Roku sounded sad, as if he regretted everything about that time.
"The world was at peace. Sozin pulled back his soldiers, and Yu Dao was restored to the Earth King. So, I stayed at home, here, where you are now, in the physical world. One night the volcano began to spew ashes… And that is where I will take you now."
The mist disappeared yet again, and Aang was sitting on Fang, with Roku in front.
"I asked my wife to take the people of the village to the boats." He gestured to some small rowing boats, gently rocking in the bay of the island, "I, in the meantime, tried to contain the violence. I could have redirected the magma, but I didn't want to put my people and my family in harms way. So, I choose to try and stop the eruption… Not one of my brightest choices." Roku chuckled sadly, while pointing to the figure of an old man, creating trenches with earthbending and using airbending to cool down the magma.
Aang himself had tried to do that, but not on this scale… The volcano that he had fought had been a small hill in comparison to this catastrophe. From everywhere, lava was spewing out of the earth, gas and hot air blazing the sky…
"I was trying to buy as much time as I could for my people to get away… I thought I was getting some control over the eruption, but then, the second volcano began to eject lava… But what I didn't know, was that Sozin had built a summer residence on the next island. He had seen the eruption, and decided to come and help." Roku explained.
As he explained, a shadow passed next to them, and, squinting his eyes, Aang saw that it was actually a dragon! A great, blue beast, with an older man, snow-white hair and bear, wearing a simpler version of the Fire Lord regalia. Sozin! Sozin had really come to help his friend!
They approached behind the Fire Lord's dragon, and Aang could hear the old man shout to Roku.
"Need a hand, old friend?" How? How was Sozin… At the same time a ruthless conqueror, but yet , an honourable man? How? Aang knew some things about the man, having been born during his reign, and most of the people had not been very positive about him. There had been rumours that he had strangled his first wife for only giving him daughters… Or that he had executed his advisor for having had an affair with Sozin's mistress…
And… oh no…
There had been a rumour that Sozin had betrayed his oldest friend.
No…
Aang watched as Roku smiled gratefully, and how Sozin jumped down, beginning to help his old friend.
Don't trust him! He wanted to shout, but it was no use… Of course this was only a memory, and he couldn't change the outcome….
A sudden explosion forced the two old men down the slope, towards the village. Aang looked over the smoke, and saw how the boats were far away.
Step on your dragon and fly awake! Please, don't do anything stupid!
"Don't breathe the gas Sozin!" Roku yelled as they ran away from the crater. As Aang and the spirit of the previous Avatar looked on, the airbender saw a small swell in the earth in front of Sozin. Toxic gas was about to erupt in the Fire Lord face, and he didn't move, watching his old friend.
"Sozin!" Roku shouted, pushing away the other man, just in time. The toxic gas erupted from the ground, right in the Avatar's face. Roku fell down, shouting, while putting his hands to his face. Aang saw angry red rashes appeared between the old fingers… He had saved Sozin.
"Please… Sozin…" A hand was extended to the Fire Lord, who looked at his friend with some… Compassion? But that quickly changed. Aang recognized that expression.
Resolve.
"Without you… All my plans are suddenly possible. I have a vision for the future Roku…" Sozin's dragon landed next to his master, and the old man climbed behind its head. Casting one last look on his old friend, the Fire Lord spoke.
"Farewell… My friend."
And flew away.
The images blurred, and a quick succession of memories followed. A great wave of magma washing over Fang and Roku… the cry of a child in a sunny room… And then, fires. So many fires. Shouts, cries and pleas.
"Make sense of our past… and you will bring peace and restore balance in the world." Roku's voice sounded far off, and Aang opened his eyes.
He was back in his own body, with the sun rising in front of him. Feeling the warmth on his face, Aang stood up, sighing.
"You're awake!" A voice called next to the rock he had been sitting on. Looking down, he saw how Katara's sleeping bag was laying next to him.
"Yes… And boy, I have a story…"
He told all that had happened in the Spirit world to his friends, and it nearly took the whole morning.
"You mean that Sozin betrayed him, even after everything that happened? After Roku showed him mercy?" Katara spoke softly, as he finished the story. He felt her hand on his knee, and smiled at the contact. It had been so, so long… And to feel her skin against him… it was good… Certainly after what horror he had just witnessed.
"It is like these people are born bad…" Toph sighed, blowing her hair off her face.
"No! That's wrong! I don't think that that was the point of what Roku showed me." Aang protested. No… it had not felt as a explanation. Rather, it had been a warning.
"What was the point then?" Sokka asked.
"Roku was as much Fire Nation as Sozin… Their story proves than anyone if capable of great good, and great evil. That no one is born evil… but rather influenced by their upbringing and their choices. Everyone, the Fire Nation, and even the Fire Lord, have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance! And also… How important friendships are…" Aang looked into the rising sun. Yes. That had been Roku's point. That friendship and a positive influence can chance the world… For the better.
"Do your… Do you really think friendships can last more than one lifetime?" Toph spoke softly, not looking at any of them.
Of course… She had never had good friends before them…
"I don't see why not." He smiled, while grabbing her hand, knowing that she could feel that he was telling the truth.
Only later that night, a lone figure walked up the mountain to where Avatar Roku and Fang had fallen. In his tattooed hand, he was holding a small candle, already lit. When Aang arrived at the place where Roku had died, he put down the candle.
"I'll do my best to save the Fire Nation Roku… I'll do whatever I can."
Answers :
Rak : Thanks! I wanted to have lighter chapter before all this tragedy! And I wanted to have Aang's POV for this chapter!
Jjsmith103 : Yeah, I thought it fitted better at how they see each other. They are each other's equal, something that the Water Tribe doesn't understand, so I wanted to make them companions. And Katara beginning to push back to Toph's teasing shows her maturing in a way that these kind of jokes don't bother her that much. And unluckily, that opportunity will have to wait a bit lol…
Gabriela N. Gonzalez : I was seriously posting this chapter when I saw your review, I had to answer it! Thank you very much, and yes, Katara still isn't over all her problems, even I it seemed everything was going well!